


Life Hertz

by Shade_OKiller



Category: Subarashiki Kono Sekai | The World Ends With You, 僕のヒーローアカデミア | Boku no Hero Academia | My Hero Academia
Genre: Gen, Identity Porn, Izuku won the Reaper Game, Kinda, Midoriya Izuku Has a Quirk, Parental Yagi Toshinori | All Might, Past death of an OC that has Impact, Toshi Isn't telling anyone who he is, both fandoms get explained so you should be able to follow along, invisibuddies, monopoly is the true test of friendship, tags added as this goes on
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-04-11
Updated: 2018-06-03
Packaged: 2019-04-21 12:27:09
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 8
Words: 38,403
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14284911
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Shade_OKiller/pseuds/Shade_OKiller
Summary: When Izuku was 10 he got lost in Shibuya, won a game, and watched people die in front of him. Then he was given (something resembling) a quirk and dropped off at a police station.At 14 Izuku is going to be a hero, and no Angel or Reaper or Villain will stop him.





	1. New Game Plus

**Author's Note:**

> You know when you come up with a crossover idea and know that you're the only person who would want it so you really shouldn't write it and then you realise you can make the title a pun so you have to?

Izuku frowned at his hero notebook, now thoroughly water logged. The koi  fish hadn't done more than investigate the thing that had dropped into their pond but the water was kinda gross especially at the bottom where all the sludge gathered. Hopefully he would be able to use mum's hair dryer to save most of the pages, but it would probably be a good idea to copy out the notes into another book just in case the smell lingered.

 

Not wanting to deal with anyone from school, especially not Kacchan after  what he said. Izuku knew he wasn't going to jump off a bridge in search of a better quirk but he was one of the few who knew what was waiting for dead people and really didn't want to go through that again. Really Kacchan should watch what he said to people because if he said that to someone else they might actually go through with it and then where would Kacchan be? Not in a hero course that’s for sure.

 

Finding his notebook had meant Izuku missed the bus and because he was on a quiet line it would take longer to wait for the next bus than it would to just walk home. That was fine with him, more time to think out loud where no one would hear him and complain. The only issue was that it hadn’t rained in a while and it was getting warmer so the path under the bridge was going to smell more of urine than usual.

 

Thinking back on the day that night in bed Izuku would marvel at   _the smell of pee_  being the worst thing he would have to deal with. 

 

At first he had thought it was in his head. Even four years out of the game  Izuku still flinched at the sound of feedback, or static, or other noise that didn't belong. Sometimes he heard it when it was quiet just because there had been no quite for that week until the very end.

 

"No hard feelings kid, but I gotta hide and here you are. Don't worry, it'll all be over in forty five seconds, a minuet tops." and then Izuku couldn't breathe or see or hear or think or anything because there was sludge in his nose and ears and eyes and mouth and Izuku panicked and dropped his frequency.

 

He gasped in air as the villain,   _and hadn’t there been something about that on the news,_ fell though the space that Izuku had been in and cursed, calling out for its body. Izuku shuddered again as everything clicked together and exactly what the villain had planned to do slammed into his brain.

 

The villain was moving and spreading out. Desperate for a body to hide in,  because he was being followed by a hero, because if Izuku could only turn  invisible then he would be able to be felt. Izuku gritted his teeth through the visual of the villain’s sludge flowing through his feet until it started to clump up together into something that while definitely not man shaped was taller than it was wide.

 

_What kind of control does it have over all the sludge, how much is original  body and what is gathered attachments because mutation quirks don't usually make that much body part of the original but-_

 

The villain started to flow itself upwards back into that vague human shape in a way that suggested it was going to make a run for it. The thought of the villain going after someone else, someone who couldn't escape. No, that couldn't happen. 

 

Izuku held out his right hand in a palm out motion and pushed at the tower of muck that looked like the villain and thought cold thoughts. 

 

Ice burst form the ground and spiralled up the villain until it was the world’s most disgusting ice block. Five minutes until the villain would be free to move again, but Izuku only had two more uses of Long Live the Flow before it had to recharge and unlike in the game there was no partner to cover his slack.

 

Izuku took a deep breath and touched the player pin he had been allowed to keep only because the conductor had given him one as he was leaving, along with a polite but firm instruction to never go back to Shibuya. The scan ability was the only one he could still use, which was sad because sometimes he found yen pins and it would be nice to trade them in somehow. Scan allowed Izuku a peek at the surface thoughts of people and the ability to see all the Noise that drifted though Musutafu. 

 

_"Twenty three minutes to catch the villain and drop him at the station-"_   there it was, close and getting closer. Izuku shifted his frequency up to almost Real Ground, close enough he could be seen without cancelling out the effects of most of the pins.

 

"THE VILLAIN'S OVER HERE!" He shouted and the manhole cover exploded upward and Izuku snapped into Real Ground frequency proper and All Might. Tall with the hair and looking at the situation and oh no Izuku had messed up.

 

"Do not fear for I am- ah, you seem to have things handled young man." All Might Grinned and Izuku felt his life flash before his eyes. "And while I think I can let you off with a warning, leave the quirk use to the pros in future hmm?"

 

"Two Minuets!" Izuku said and felt the heat erupt over his face. "Um until the ice vanishes I mean and um I think there needs to be a container to get it into so it can be arrested?" and that seems like a lot of stuff but it seems like most of the actual body is by its eyes so that should probably be enough to stop it controlling anything else what happens if a body gets separated will it just flow back together how much control does it have over itself.

 

"Well that is a very good point, young man," All Might laughed and fished some bottles out of the junk around the underpass. "Do you think these will do?"

 

Izuku just nodded, he couldn't trust himself to talk anymore. Perhaps he should take a vow of silence and never talk again.

 

"I hate to say it young man but I don't think you could do a vow of silence." All Might patted Izuku's shoulder and Izuku felt his soul leave his body.

 

"Mugh." Izuku slammed his hands over his mouth and considered if it would have been easier to let the villain kill him.

 

"Is this your bag?" All Might asked holding up Izuku's backpack.

 

"Mmhm." Izuku nodded, "Um, could you, sign?" Izuku pulled out the first book he touched and it was the hero notes, now thoroughly sludge covered, although comparatively not much worse off than it had been after Kacchan was done with it. He held it out and All Might raised an eyebrow and flipped though the notes, then the other eyebrow joined it.

 

"These are very good for someone your age," All Might said, "What's your  name young man?"

 

"Midoriya Izuku. And I just pay attention I guess?" Izuku shrugged and thought very hard about not slipping frequency and not thinking out loud.

 

"If this is just paying attention I don't doubt you can go far." All Might said, handing back the book with a grin. 

 

"You think so?" Izuku asked and started to tear up. "I just, I really want to be a hero and save people like you."

 

"Well then I look forward to seeing you in the future!" All Might said.

 

"Really?"

 

"Certainly!" All Might agreed and patted Izuku on the shoulder again. "But I think the time on our friend there is running out. Stand well clear." 

 

Izuku nodded and jogged backwards from the situation and watched as All  Might changed from friendly hero interacting with a fan to Pro hero dealing  with a villain. After a moment Izuku shook himself out of fanboy brain and  dropped down to the Under Ground frequency and readied Long Live the Flow again just in case and then watched as the number one hero defeated the villain in two hits and shoved slime into the bottles. Once the sludge was all sealed away All Might looked around and Izuku jumped up frequency to wave at the hero.

 

"Thank you!" Izuku called

 

The hero grinned and waved and vanished down into the sewer. Izuku looked at where the hero had gone and slipped back down and used the Sexy B pin to move the manhole cover back into place.

* * *

Izuku hadn't managed to save most of his hero notebook and that wasn't so much of a surprise really. Instead he carefully extracted the pages, as in multiple because he had written across the first two All Might pages, and dried and framed them to hang in his room. All Might thought he could be a hero. All Might, the All Might.

 

Mum had still been at work when Izuku got home so he hadn't had anyone to tell about the meeting. Well, Kacchan did live nearby, but Izuku was starting to think that his friendship with Kacchan wasn't quite as friendly as he kept acting. So maybe he wouldn't talk about it with Kacchan, maybe he would just scream into his pillow and work on homework. If he was going to try for UA then he was going to need the best grades.

 

He would probably need to work some more on his pins as well. After the game he hadn't really used the pins, dropping frequency was enough to get him out of most situations and he didn't actually want to hurt any of the kids in his class. Because his pins could do a lot of damage, during the game he had used Long Live the Ice and Sexy + so much to beat noise that they had become Flow and B. But it had been years since the game, he wasn't allowed to fight the noise in the city unless they attacked him fist (the composer had been very clear about that) and the local reapers avoided him like the plague (when they weren't laughing at him).

 

Izuku avoided the players. He wasn't allowed to interfere with the game, living people weren't allowed to and even if Izuku was something of a special case he wasn't that special. Sometimes if he found yen pins he would leave them in stores with the reaper marks on them, because he remembered gulping down food whenever he could and not knowing if he was going to get another day another meal. Yeah, he wasn't supposed to help but accidentally dropping something wasn't actually helping. Not really. Not in a way that mattered.

 

Training was going to be tricky. There wasn't enough space in the apartment to practice any of his pins. With a sigh Izuku pushed his homework away and pulled up his laptop, if he was going to think about this then making a proper plan with actual research would be a good idea.

 

* * *

Izuku blinked and tried not to heave. The news articles really hadn't prepared him for  _this_. The entirety of the beach was covered in mountains of junk and there was the smell of rot and stale water. Maybe this had been a bad idea.

 

No, Izuku needed to practice, he'd only had four years with his abilities but  aside from the game week he hadn't used anything aside from frequency changes with anything that could even approach regularity. Yeah, practicing here was the best idea. And if he was going to spend time at the beach then maybe he could try clean up the worst of it. In the game he had been able to toss around cars but not with any real direction; even attacking with stop signs had mainly involved slapping the object at the noise and hoping for the best.

 

Sometimes Izuku thought that ten year old him had been a real idiot.

 

An hour into training Izuku screamed. Some of his pins were different; He had finished the game with a Masamune pin that he hadn't used because it required getting closer to the noise to use than his partner was willing to let a ten year old get. It wasn't a Masamune anymore, now it was Onikiri. It had the same purple and orange background with the white frame, but instead of the slanted M in the centre it was an O. 

 

The pin had evolved. Not from use, because Izuku hadn't used it, but somehow in the four years Izuku had kept it around something had triggered the evolution for it. Izuku used Sexy B to knock over one off the fridges so he could use the door as a table. It wasn't great but he was less likely to lose a pin on that than among the rest of the piles of junk. 

 

Izuku very carefully didn't think about anything that might be inside the fridge. Nope, nothing in there, just a solid lump of metal.

 

Most of the pins hadn't changed. Web Spider had another evolution but that hadn't triggered yet, Aqua Demon, Long Live the Flow, and Sexy B were already at their final form by the end of the game, and Healing Bunny had become Healing Whale and now showed a cartoon whale blowing a heart out its spout. Okay, that he could handle. Izuku pinned everything back into place on his t-shirt and dropped his frequency, it was time to start training.

  

 

* * *

 

Over the next month Izuku learnt a lot about the pins he had. Onikiri was terrifying. To activate it Izuku moved to punch his target and then the pin took over and reduced whatever he was aiming at to a compact chunk. No  matter what it reduced size by three quarters and left Izuku kind of shaky.  There were combinations that he was able to do that they had never tried in the game, Izuku could only move one thing at a time with Sexy B, but if he froze a bunch of things together with Long Live the Flow then as long as they didn't weigh more than a vending machine he could move it.

 

Now that he was feeling more comfortable with his ability to use pins Izuku had found himself with a different problem - he had nowhere to take the junk. The dump was on the other side of town, part of the reason that dumping things on the beach had become so common. Somehow Izuku didn't see the bus drivers being okay with him ferrying trash on their bus.

 

"Back again m'boy?"

 

Izuku jumped, startled out of his thoughts, and turned to wave. "Good morning Yagi-san." Izuku grinned. The man was tall and thin and had scared Izuku half to death the first time he coughed blood, but he had apparently moved back after years overseas. Izuku thought that the moving back had something to do with the injury that caused the man to cough blood, but that was the kind of thing that was rude to bring up. "How are you feeling today?"

 

"Just fine," Yagi-san grinned. "And you, Midoriya-san? Aren’t you usually busy by now?"

 

"Yeah. I wanted to get started clearing the beach but I don't have anywhere to clear it too." Izuku bit his lip and avoided Yagi-san's eye.

 

"Hmmm, I might be able to help you with that." Yagi-san said.

 

"Really?"

 

"Yeah. Tell you what, I'll see you back here Saturday morning and we'll see how much will fit in my truck."

 

"Ah! Yagi-san you're my hero!" Izuku cheered. "Thank you! Ah, Yagi-san are you okay? I'm sorry."

 

Yagi-san fished out a pack of tissues from his pocket and wiped away the blood before waving off Izuku's apology.

 

Izuku dropped his frequency and used the Happy Whale pin to summon the healing drink into his hand. When he returned to the RG frequency beside Yagi-san the drink didn't vanish. Izuku wasn't sure that this was going to work, but it couldn't do anything worse than what Yagi-san was already dealing with.

 

"Here, Yagi-san. I promise it tastes better than blood." Izuku said and held out the light blue can.

 

"Thank you my boy. Ah, Happy Whale?" Yagi-san asked as he cracked the top and took a sip.

 

"It's my favourite; I always have some on me." Izuku said and it wasn't really a lie.

 

"Well thank you." Yagi-san said. "I suppose you're going to make me go home now aren't you."

 

"I will cry." Izuku confirmed. "And it will be loud and wet and gross and much easier for everyone if you just sit there and finish your drink and then take the rest of the day to relax."

 

"You drive a hard bargain." Yagi-san said relaxing into a park bench that had hopefully been placed before the beach became a dumping ground. "Alright, you do your thing and I'll come back with my truck eight o'clock Saturday morning and we'll see what we can make happen."

 

"Thanks Yagi-san. Take care of yourself." Izuku waved before hopping back down into the junk.

 

"You too Midoriya-san, you too."

* * *

Izuku arrived at the beach on Saturday later than he intended. There was a truck parked on the side of the road nearest the beach and Izuku could see the shock of blond that was Yagi-san at the back of the truck opening the doors. 

 

"Yagi-san! Sorry I'm late."

 

"No problem Midoriya-san." Yagi waved off Izuku's apologies. "There's plenty of time for you to do the heavy lifting."

 

"Right, I prepared some stuff this week so it shouldn't take me too long." And Izuku dropped his frequency and started lifting the vaguely cubed hunks of scrap into the back on the van. His fine control still wasn't great so after there were enough for a row Izuku upped his frequency and pushed them into place. Yagi shouted a mix of encouragement and corrections to Izuku's form whenever he did and Izuku added that to the mental tally of things that suggested Yagi was an ex-hero.

 

The truck was loaded up by ten and Izuku climbed into the passenger seat  next to Yagi. Climbed really was the word there, Izuku had never been faced with a vertical that tall and Izuku never wanted to be faced with one again. Ever helpful Yagi laughed at him and offered to find a step ladder and a booster seat.

 

"You can't be mean to me Yagi-san that's child abuse." Izuku pouted. He had, in the process of packing the truck, managed to miss time his recharge and panic punched a cube into the ocean. Yagi had literally laughed himself sick and Izuku was regretting a lot of life choices.

 

"You are far from the only one to do something like that when training their quirk my boy." 

 

"Are you going to tell me any of yours?" Izuku asked.

 

"Ha-ha, no." Yagi said.

 

"Oh come on." Izuku pouted. 

 

"Ah see now you've totally convinced me," Yagi said. "Wait, no, the other one."

 

"See if I share my energy drinks with you again." Izuku sniffed.

 

They managed three trips to the dump that day and at the end of it Izuku's everything was aching. That would have been fine, but the beach looked like they hadn't even touched it.

 

"Well, I suppose I'll see you again next week Midoriya." Yagi said with a look at the beach.

 

"Yeah." Izuku agreed weakly. 

 

True enough the trash on the beach did slowly get removed. Izuku stated taking photos of it on Sunday mornings and was surprised at how much shorter the towers of junk were. They seemed much less likely to fall over and crush him beneath their weight. Not that that was a thing he was worried about or anything. 

 

As the beach cleared Yagi also started looking healthier. It was probably wishful thinking, but Izuku kept plying the man with the Happy Whale drinks, and shrugged off questions about where the drinks came from. It had become abundantly clear over the months Izuku knew Yagi that the man didn't take care of himself, so Izuku was going to force self-care into him.

 

The game had brought a lot of lessons, the biggest being that you couldn't  actually exist alone without anyone else in your life. The loss of Sa-Chan still hurt. A week of living in each other’s pockets and having each other’s lives in their hands built up bonds fast. She probably would have liked to clear the beach; she was that kind of person.

 

"Are you alright Midoriya?" Yagi asked and Izuku pasted a grin on his face.

 

"Fine, Yagi-san." Izuku said.

 

"Somehow I don't believe that." Yagi said, and something in the way he said it set Izuku off.

 

"I just thought that one of my friends would like to be here but," Izuku sniffed hard once, twice, and then started crying, "she's dead and she, she  saved me, so many times, and I couldn't save her when she needed me to  and now she's dead and it's pretty much my fault."

 

"Oh my boy," Yagi breathed deeply and gently wrapped an arm around Izuku's shoulder pulling him in until Izuku was sobbing into his shirt. "I want to say you stop feeling like you failed them, but you don't. Not really. But it does get easier to think of them in better ways. Doing the things that they'd like, remembering them happy." Yagi rubbed circles onto Izuku's back and slowly, slowly, the sobs fell off.

 

"Sorry." Izuku mumbled and wiped at his tears with the heal of his palms. "Oh no, I snotted all over your shirt."

 

"It's fine, really," Yagi added. Izuku pulled a face that made Yagi sigh. "Izuku, I promise you, me and my shirts have had far worse than that." Izuku wasn't sure what the look on his face was but it must have been unconvincing. "Alright, I think we should get you home."

 

Izuku felt a foot behind and to the right of himself as he let Yagi shuffle him into the cab of the truck. He gave directions when asked and stared blankly out the window the rest of the time.

 

* * *

Toshi kept glancing at the boy in the passenger seat. While he was familiar with that particular mood it was far worse to see it on the face of the teen he had been helping, someone who had reacted to Toshi coughing blood by offering the first canned drink that hadn't made him feel worse. A drink that was annoyingly impossible to find even for the number one hero.

 

It had been an unexpected emotional evening that was certain. Toshi parked the truck and walked round to the passenger side to help Izuku down. He wasn't sure how aware of his surroundings the boy was and while his struggle to get into and out of the truck was amusing, it would look very bad if he brought Izuku home to his mother injured. It was going to look bad regardless, because Toshinori was aware of how he didn't look like someone you wanted around you child.

 

Izuku stumbled when he hit the ground and momentarily flickered from existence. Toshi swallowed a sigh and locked the truck as Izuku lead the way up to the apartment. The door was opened and the woman caught sight of Izuku and started crying.

 

Apparently that was something that came to Izuku genetically. 

 

Toshi attempted to calm her down and explain something about the situation while Izuku just drifted across the room and down the hall.

 

When Inko had stopped crying and was seated with some tea Toshinori had started to explain the situation. It took significantly more explanation that he'd expected because apparently Izuku hadn't told his mother anything about cleaning up the beach.

 

"Thank you for looking out for him." Inko said, looking down at her tea cup  like it held the answers to everything. "I worry about him so much."

 

"He, he mentioned a friend that died?" Toshi said carefully. The words landed like lead and Inko slumped.

 

"Four years ago Izuku went missing in Shibuya. There was no sign of him, no one saw him no one could contact him, just vanished off the face of the  earth," Inko took a shuddering breath and Toshi listened in increasing horror as she explained the search, the worry, and the days of nothing.

 

 "For eight days there was no sign of him and then the Conductor of Shibuya walked him into a police station, told them to call me, and told Izuku to never go back to Shibuya. Apparently his quirk activated that week and a student doing research in the area had helped him escape a local villain group but she didn't make it." Inko drank her tea and made a slight face at the temperature. 

 

"I had no idea." Toshi said.

 

"He doesn't talk about it much. He had counselling for a while but he didn't want to go any more and I wasn't going to force him. He said her name was Sa-Chan, but not much else." Inko sighed and slumped, exhaustion written in every inch of her face.

 

"Here," Toshi scrawled his number on a note pad next to a reminder to get bread and eggs. "I may not look like it anymore, but I have experience in that situation. If you or Izuku need something."

 

"Thank you, Yagi-san."

* * *

"Well done my boy, so, what's your next project?"

 

Izuku tore his eyes away from the horizon, the visible clear horizon, to look at Yagi-san. Eight months of work had cleared the beach completely.

 

"Study for high school exams I guess." Izuku said and handed over a can of Happy Whale.

 

"Oh, that’s right its exam time soon isn't it? Where are you thinking of applying?" 

 

"UA." Izuku admitted, looking away. "I, I really want to be a hero like All Might, and save people with a smile, and let them know that they'll be safe." 

 

"I think if anyone could take All Might's place it would be you, Midoriya-san." Yagi said and patted Izuku on the shoulder when he started spluttering. "Oh hush, I should know."

 

"What do you mean you should know?" Izuku asked and snapped to look at Yagi. Yagi looked like he had expected there to be one less step than there was.

 

"Didn't I mention?" Yagi said airy and with a hint of panic in his eyes, "I'm  All Might's secretary."

 

"What!?"


	2. Make or Break

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Izuku is Izuku, no matter what he goes into the exam with, and will use any power he has to help.

The gates to UA were beautiful and imposing and distracting, which was going to be Izuku's explanation if anyone asked why he manged to trip over his own feet.

 

Expecting to face plant into the ground Izuku was surprised when he most certainly didn't.

 

"Ah, sorry for using my quirk on you without asking!" Said a brown haired girl as she pushed Izuku back into an upright position, and that was fine because Izuku's aborted flails hadn't done anything to right him. "It seemed like bad luck to trip right before an exam though. Good luck!" she cancelled her quirk and Izuku dropped to his feet with wide eyes as the girl waved and ran off.

 

Izuku blinked and followed.

 

The exam hall was huge and split by entrant school so Izuku was sitting next to Kacchan, who seemed to be alternating between attempting to set Izuku on fire with his mind and pretending that Izuku didn't exist. It was an impressive combination but then Kacchan was an impressive person.

 

Izuku tapped his foot as the exam papers were handed out, too distracted by not getting distracted to notice who was doing it. When everyone had a paper the time started and they were allowed to turn to the first page. Izuku blanked. Izuku looked at the first question and felt all the knowledge that he had ever had in his brain was gone and he wasn't going to be able to write anything and he was going to fail and live under a bridge for the rest of his life.

 

Kacchan kicked Izuku in the shin and Izuku snapped to awareness. The panic didn't vanish, but Izuku stuffed it down deep and started to write.

 

The timer shocked Izuku from where he was adding details to one of the early essays. The written portion of the exam had finished. Izuku swallowed his mouth suddenly dry and handed his paper to the person - was that Vlad King? - collecting them and returned his attention to Present Mic (another thing to freak out about after the exam). His brain felt strangely empty and it felt like he wasn't attached to all his fingers. So, normal post exam paper feelings.

 

Present Mic was explaining the robots they would be facing, because of course it was going to be robots, and then one of the students across the room was asking about the forth and then there was a spotlight on Izuku and he was getting told off by the kid with glasses for muttering. Izuku wanted to vanish from existence. So he did.

 

"Hey Lister, good enthusiasm but you see that last robot is worth zero points, so you kids shouldn't bother going after it." Present Mic called. "Also, invisible kid, can you come - ah thanks kid."

 

Izuku had upped his frequency again and ignored Kacchan's scoff. There were a few snickers around the room that made Izuku shrink in on himself as he very carefully didn't drop frequency no matter how much he wanted to.

 

From the exam hall they were split into groups according to seat number and lead to the practical examination... city? It certainly looked like a city and sure UA was the top school but what were the classes like if this was how much they were willing to spend on the entrance exam? Because there was no way to realise hundreds of students with a range of quirks into a space and give them free range and expect the space to be functional at the end. Wasn't Cementoss rumoured to be a teacher at UA? That could explain it.

 

Izuku glanced up at the right moment and spotted familiar brown hair, the girl that had stopped him from tripping in front of the gates. Who he hadn't thanked. Izuku started toward her only to be stopped by the kid in the glasses that had apparently decided Izuku was some kind of want to be delinquent out to sabotage the other students? How Izuku had moved from annoying mutterer to saboteur extraordinaire he wasn't quite sure. 

 

"And off you go! What? villains aren't going to wait 'till you're prepared to show up." Present Mic shouted. There was a moment of shocked stillness before the first person broke ranks and ran for it.

 

That was the snowball that started the avalanche and everyone was charging into the city. Izuku dropped frequency and sprinted like he was chasing after a pig noise. With his frequency low there was no need to worry about the crowds, Izuku went right though them. Invisible, intangible, and with fully powered pins Izuku was confident in his abilities.

 

Then he saw the robots.

 

There was a certain sense of scale that was lost though screens, Izuku knew this, had watched hero fight on his way home from school just to see them on the news later looking smaller and more controlled than they were. He had never considered the reverse. Each of the robots were stories tall, the one pointer was bigger than his condominium. 

 

And it was falling because someone with an ice quirk had punctured though its chest. Izuku snapped himself out of his stupor and mentally recategorised the enemies from 'robots' to 'really big robots'. 

 

Izuku ran though the faux city and kept finding broken robots. The other students, who hadn't had their place in the world shuffled multiple times in the course of a day, had taken to the task with the enthusiasm that heroics deserved. So Izuku really needed to get some points.

 

While Izuku had chucked cars around with Sexy B, the robots weren't going to be that light. Instead, when Izuku spotted a cluster of one pointers he paused, raised his frequency enough to be spotted, unfortunately also grabbing the attention of the robots, before he dropped it again and readied Web Spider. He flicked his right pointer finger three times, one at each of the robots and watched the lighting arch between them. The robots weren't built like noise, and the third one to be hit tilted slightly, Izuku changed to Sexy B and gave it the shove it needed. The robot toppled into the first and the resulting shockwave was enough to take out the second. Three points secured, and Izuku still had five uses of the pin before the recharge. 

 

Izuku had twelve more points when he heard something other than fighting or robots. It was crying, but not normal crying, Izuku was very aware of what normal crying sounded like, no this was last resort crying, the kind where you knew the crying wasn't going to help but it was the only thing you could do. Izuku went straight for it. 

 

There was a boy with some kind of glass for hair with his shin bent at a very wrong angle.

 

"Hey, I'm Midoriya Izuku, what's your name?" Izuku asked stopping next to the kid.

 

"Ha-Hashira Hisaki." Hashira said, not looking away from his broken leg.

 

"Okay Hashira-kun, you need to see a medic about that okay. So I'm going to use my quirk on you to keep your leg from moving anymore, okay?" Izuku asked.

 

"A-alright." 

 

"Okay, for my quirk to work it's going to look like I left but I promise I'm right here and everything that happens is controlled, okay?" Izuku tried to smile like All Might but he wasn't sure it worked so well when you weren't seven foot of muscles and heroics. 

 

Hashira didn't seem to care how strange the smile was and Izuku dropped his frequency. This was something he hadn't done, but Sa-chan had done something like it to him so it should work fine. Using Sexy B Izuku carefully lifted Hashira and then, once the boy was several feet off the ground, activated Long Live the Flow and froze his legs, keeping the broken one from breaking any more.

 

Then Izuku started to run. He had another 3 minutes of Sexy B to get Hashira-kun to a medic, or a safe place, before he lost the use of it for five minutes. Thankfully with Sexy B Hashira wasn't being jostled like he would be if Izuku was carrying him, giving Hashira a much smoother trip. Izuku's mental countdown hit thirty seconds before the start of the test came into view and Izuku prepared to catch Hashira if he needed to. It wasn't needed, a student in the UA uniform was there waiting with a robotic stretcher just as Sexy B wore off.

 

"What happened?" A girl asked, checking Hashira over in a way that only made sense to medics.

 

"I don't know, I heard Hashira-kun crying and when I found him his leg was broken. The ice will vanish in another minute or so and there won't be any issues from the cold." Izuku said in a rush. This was not a time for muttering or theorising.

 

"Okay, thanks kid. Head back out, there's still ten minutes for you to grab points, Recovery Girl will fix Hashira-san right up." She smiled like nothing could possibly go wrong and shoed Izuku off.

 

"Ah, okay. Feel better soon Hashira-kun!" Izuku called as he sprinted back into the field.

 

Ten minutes to get points, and no telekinesis for five. Only one each of Long Live the Flow and Web Spider, but he still had all four uses of Healing Whale, and seven of Onikiri, and all of Aqua Demon but that wasn't a good pin for where people were moving. He could get more points. If he could find them.

 

The only robots in the area were truly crushed and panic was building in Izuku's gut every time he came across a robot just as someone else took it out. It might not have been so bad if they weren't also shouting how that made thirty or forty or fifty points. Fifteen was nothing compared to that, fifteen wasn't going to get Izuku a pass.

 

There was something awful and reasuring about knowing he wasn't going to make it. It sucked, but there wasn't any pressure still on him. Instead Izuku helped get people out of rubble, or gave them a can of Happy Whale, or pointed them in the direction of the medics. Just because he wasn't going to make it into the hero classes didn't mean he was going to be a jerk to the ones that earned it.

 

Izuku had handed over his third can of Happy Whale to a girl who had slid down several stories of concrete and had scraped her arms, legs, back... Izuku flushed bright red and pulled off his jacket, way too small for her because she was built like she lifted trucks with her pinkie, but it would cover her butt. She laughed at his reaction but thanked him and followed his directions to the starting line, getting a promise from him to meet her in the medic tent to get his jacket back.

 

She had just turned the corner when the ground started to shake and people screamed. Izuku turned and ran toward it. Sexy B had recharged and Izuku was always going to go to people who needed help. 

 

He hadn't expected the crowd running the opposite direction of him. Izuku dropped his frequency again and ran through them. They were running from the zero pointer, the zero pointer was taller than any of the buildings and had no issue mowing through them like grass.

 

And there was a familiar head of brown hair pinned under some rubble. Izuku didn't think, just activated Sexy B to throw the rubble around the zero pointer as a distraction. The girl looked around for someone who had done it and Izuku upped his frequency as he reached her.

 

 

"Are you okay?" He asked and held out a can of Happy Whale. "Drink this, it'll take care of any minor injuries."

 

"Thank you, but you should get out of here." The girl said, taking the drink and pushing at his shoulder.

 

Privately Izuku wanted to run away from the zero pointer, it was bigger than anything he had faced, in the game or since, and there was something about things that big that made you reconsider the fate of bugs on windscreens. The robot hadn't stopped moving toward them so Izuku dropped frequency, ignoring the stab of pain as the girls face fell, and thought cold thoughts at the robot. The last use of Long Live the Flow crawled up the tank treads on the robot and stopped it.

 

"I'm not just going to leave you here. Come on, can you walk?" Izuku held out his left hand to her, smiling through here look of shock. "My name's Midoriya Izuku by the way, figured since you saved me it was only fair I save you, right?"

 

"I guess! I'm Uraraka Ochako." She smiled and it was shaky but much better than her terrified face so Izuku would count it as a win. "And, well your drink fixed my nausea but I don't think I can put any weight on my leg."

 

"Oh-okay, I'll help you to the start then. We only have a few more minutes before that thing is moving again so we should probably hurry." Izuku helped Uraraka to stand and wrapped her right arm around his shoulders. "I knew being so short would help one day." He muttered and something about that and the fact they were hobbling away from a giant robot had them cracking up until a siren sounded and Present Mic called the end of the test.

 

"Hey, can I ask you something kinda dumb?" Uraraka said once their ears had stopped ringing.

 

"I guess?" Izuku asked scrabbling mentally to work out what she could want to know and properly word an answer to it.

 

"Weren't you wearing a jacket before?"

 

* * *

 

 

Izuku had collected his jacket and stumbled though an awkward interaction with the girl's thankful sister, and now was sitting in his room staring at the ceiling. That was the worst part of exams, when they had finished and there was nothing he could do but wait and think about every little thing he did wrong. There were a lot of them, some of them might not have been real but by this point it really didn't matter.

 

Being the best mother in the world Inko had let Izuku stew in his mood for the weekend and, when Izuku had made no sign of doing things like showering, getting dressed, or leaving the house (and Inko really would have accepted any one of those on their own, she knew her son) she called in the big guns.

 

It wasn't long after Inko had called her goodbye that there was a series of knocks at the door. Izuku considered his options carefully and decided that ignoring it was the best way to go. Then there were more knocks. Then they were getting louder. After the third round of knocking Izuku thought for sure that whoever it was had given up.

 

He thought that until his bedroom door opened to the disappointed face of Yagi Toshinori. Their eyes met and Izuku regretted a lot of his life choices. He was sitting in his room where more space was dedicated to All Might memorabilia than not, in his bed where All Might grinned from the duvet cover, in the same All Might pyjamas that he had put on after the exam on Friday. And it was now being seen by All Might's secretary.

 

"Ah, young Midoriya, you have twenty minutes to be clean and ready to leave the apartment or you will be leaving the apartment in whatever state you're in." Yagi grinned and gave Izuku a thumbs up. "I'll be waiting in the lounge." 

 

Izuku had never quite understood how Yagi could be seen as scary, but Izuku was pretty sure he would rather go through the entrance exam again than see that particular gin and thumbs up combination ever again in his life. 

 

Izuku grabbed fresh clothes, clothes that didn't have anything to do with All Might and ran to the bathroom. He was clean and dressed in record time and not long after had his bag and was lingering in the doorway to the lounge. 

 

"Yagi-san?"

 

Yagi looked up from his phone and smiled in the non-terrifying way that Izuku was used to, finished his message, and stood. "Alright my boy lets go."

 

"Go where?" Izuku asked, shouldering his bag and following Yagi out the door.

 

"It's a surprise."

 

Izuku didn't believe that. He was a smart kid and one with a cell phone with data and maps. But then they changed trains three times in an hour, each one taking them further out from Tokyo central. When they got of the last train it was at Tama Dobutsukoen.

 

"You're taking me to the zoo?" Izuku asked stumbling out of the train behind Yagi.

 

"Fresh air, sunshine, exercise, and animals. Everything you need to distract yourself." Yagi said and steamrolled past all Izuku's spluttered objections.

 

The thing was it worked. It was hard to think about how badly you failed an exam when there was a zoo keeper with a morphic quirk showing examples of animal fur textures by changing the skin on her arms, or while watching squirrel monkeys leap everywhere. Or hearing about how the Samaritan tiger population had increased enough to take it out of the immediate danger zone. It was a nice day.

 

"My boy, I think you need to consider that you didn't fail." Yagi said as they were leaving. 

 

"What?" Izuku asked.

 

"Do you regret helping any of the people you did, even when you could have gained more points by leaving them for the staff to assist?" Yagi asked.

 

"No." Izuku said. "I don't regret that." He just wished that he had been able to help them all and get points for himself.

 

"I've been in the hero industry for most of my life." Yagi said, "And if more emphasis was put on helping people rather than smashing villains I think that would be a good thing. You've got the soul of a hero, Midoriya-kun. If UA doesn't see that then it's their loss."

 

That of course was too much for Izuku to deal with and he started bawling his eyes out in the middle of the train station. 

 

* * *

 

 

There was a letter. There was a letter from UA. There was a letter from UA with Izuku's name on it. His mother gave him a smile that was equal parts hopeful, proud, and anxious. Izuku just felt anxious as he slipped out to his room.

 

The wax seal was interesting and Izuku tore open the top of the letter instead of trying to break it? crack it? how were you supposed to open a wax seal anyway? Inside was a disk and a piece of paper. For a moment Izuku stared at it blankly, trying to think of what he had that could play a disk that looked like that.

 

That issue was solved when Izuku put the disk down and it projected All Might's face against the wall.

 

"Wait this is recording all ready? Ah, ahem, I mean, Greetings young Midoriya Izuku! I've heard a lot about yo- stick to the script? What are you, fine. Well, it hasn't been made public but I have returned to Musutafu to teach at UA. For the entrance exam you passed the written test with eighty five percent, good job!" All Might gave his signature grin. "For the practical you were able to collect fifteen villain points, which is not enough to allow you into the heroics course."

 

Izuku felt his heart sink and nodded, he had been expecting that after all.

 

"However, to be a hero means more than just fighting villains! There was a panel of judges watching the exam who saw your efforts to assist your fellows, even at the cost of your own success! For your efforts you have been awarded seventy rescue points, for a grand total of eighty five!" The image changed to show a table of examination results with Izuku's name at the top. Izuku barely registered that before the image turned back to All Might. "Congratulations Young Midoriya, this is your hero academy."

 

Izuku screamed and dropped frequency and kept screaming.

 

* * *

 

 

Inko had been pacing outside Izuku's room torn between the desire to barge in and read over his shoulder, and the desire to let him deal with whatever the result was in his own way. She had of course texted Yagi-san the moment Izuku had left the room, and while he seemed confident she was terrified. Izuku had inherited his anxiety honestly.

 

The scream was short before it vanished and when Inko burst into the room she couldn't see Izuku, but there was an All Might pillow floating above the bed about where Izuku's head would be if he was sitting. That was the only sign that Izuku was there, the bed didn't dip or otherwise indicate a fifteen year old was sitting on it.

 

"Izuku, sweetie, was that a good scream or a bad scream?" Inko asked. Her son faded into existence, eyes blood shot and face a blotchy red covered in tears and snot. He'd come by the ugly crying honestly too. "Sweetie?" She moved closer for a hug, good or bad a hug would help.

 

Izuku didn't so much accept the hug as he did launch himself at her.

 

"I got in, I got in." He sobbed out against her shoulder and then Inko was crying too.

 

* * *

 

Yagi-san: So I hear some congratulations are in order?

 

Izuku: What you knew???!!!!

 

Yagi-san: I have my sources >;D

 

 

Izuku blinked at the All Might emoji and looked again, sure that it would vanish as some strange misread. No, it was still there. That, no that didn't mean what it looked like. Plenty of people used All Might emoji's.

 

Izuku: Your a terrible person and I hate you

  

* * *

 

 

Izuku stood outside the door for class 1-A and seriously considered dropping frequency for the day. It wouldn't matter that much surely.

 

"Ah, it's you!" someone shouted behind him. Izuku turned to see Uraraka running toward him. "Midoriya-kun right?"

 

"Yeah! Hi Uraraka-sa," Izuku cut himself off at the look on her face, "Uraraka-chan?" He offered and relaxed when she nodded with a grin. "You got into 1-A too?"

 

"Yes! I'm so excited." She said bouncing on the balls of her feet. "Um, Midoriya-kun, are you going to go inside?"

 

"Haven't decided yet." Izuku admitted.

 

"Well, come on then." She said and looped her arm around Izku to drag him through the door and into the class. There was a confusing whirl of introductions started because Kacchan was being rude and glasses from the exam was attempting to fix what no one had ever managed to and get Katsuki to actually respect property. The boy introduced himself as Iida Tenya and apologised for his actions in the exam which was surprising but Izuku accepted and thought maybe he would have two friends by the end of the day.

 

Then a sleeping bag rolled into the class and spoke. It probably said something about Izuku's life that that wasn't in the top ten weirdest things to have happened to him. The sleeping bag contained their homeroom teacher and sports uniforms for everyone. Because they were skipping the opening ceremony and orientation for a Quirk Apprehension Test. 

 

Izuku got changed fast and made a concentrated effort to not be within two feet of Kacchan at any time. And, after a short moment, the purple haired kid that was trying to find a hole in the wall to peek in at the girls. It was much easier outside of the changing rooms where he could attach himself to Uraraka and a group of girls who had bonded in their short time without boys and meet Asui 'call me Tsuyu' Tsuyu, and Yaoyorozu Momo.

 

When the class has gathered Izuku made the mistake of thinking that this could be fun, a chance to see what quirks everyone had. Even Kacchan screaming DIE at a baseball was more amusing than anything. Until their teacher announced that the person in last place would be expelled. That killed the mood.

 

Izuku smiled a shaky smile at Uraraka and listened very carefully. The bright side was that none of the tests were things that Izuku had never encountered before, most were if not standard P.E. activities then happened at some point during school life. But adding quirks in would be something else.

 

They started with a fifty metre dash that Izuku resigned himself to mediocrity after Iida cleared the distance in a blur and Yaoyorozu made a moped. The grip test also wasn't great because apparently there were a lot of strength quirks in the class. Izuku managed well on the sit ups because sometimes anxiety activity was a thing and sit ups didn't require leaving the room. 

 

The standing jump presented a stretch of sand and Tsuyu pretty much claimed that one in her jump. Izuku was going okay just through personal strength but this was supposed to be about quirks, and sure Izuku didn't actually have one but that hadn't mattered so far.

 

When it was his turn to make an attempt Izuku crouched and jumped, dropping his frequency the moment his feet left the ground. Izuku tested how far he could actually jump and got about a metre, and then took an extra step before he jumped straight up and lifed his frequency as he started to drop. That time when he hit the sand there was an impact. It wasn't a winning jump, that would be ridiculous, but it was enough for a spot in the top half of the class, and that was what mattered.

 

The last activity was the baseball pitch, and Kacchan managed to improve on the example through by an extra three metres. That wasn't enough to beat Uraraka's throw, where one touch had the ball floating to the stratosphere until Aizawa-sensai's measurement app gave up and started flashing random numbers and symbols.

 

Izuku stood on the space for his turn and frowned at the ball. He wasn't sure how the measurement would work if the ball went down frequency, because things he was holding at the time of a drop tended to drop with him. Izuku tossed the ball straight up and then dropped his frequency before activating Sexy B. There was a full four and a half minutes of charge on it so Izuku grabbed the ball and pushed it as far away as he could. This was something he hadn’t tested, but the speed he was sending the ball should keep it moving if the pin stopped. Izuku lost track of the ball before Sexy B ran out so when four minutes had past he let go of the pin and rose his frequency again.

 

"One thousand and fifteen metres." Aizawa read off. "Next."

 

Izuku shuffled out of the way as the last few students did their throws. And then there was an anxious wait as the final rankings were calculated. 

 

Ninth place wasn't that bad for a test where his 'quirk' didn't suit most of the tasks. Unfortunately the threat of expulsion held true, and the purple boy with the adhesive style quirk was told to pack up his things and leave.

 

"You were serious?" asked Yaoyorozo, even as some tension dropped from Uraraka’s shoulders.

 

"Heroics is dangerous, those who are more likely to endanger those around them, whether through malice or immaturity, than aid them should not be involved. Now you have twenty minutes to be in your desks without getting detention. Midoriya, stay back." Aizawa said.

 

Izuku felt fear like he hadn’t experienced since the battle with the Game Master. "Yes Sensei." 

 

The class moved away, consoling looks split between Mineta and Izuku as they went.

 

"I am aware that you cheated in the standing jump. I don't care, if you can cheat like that on sand you did something right." Aizawa started and Izuku took a shuddering breath. "However, the next time you do cheat there will be repercussions."

 

"Yes Sensei." Izuku agreed and sprinted for the changing room before he could change his mind.

 

* * *

 

When his mother asked how his first day had gone, the only response Izuku could come up with was “eventful.”

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Oh my gosh you guys there has been such an amazing response to the first chapter of this I really was not expecting it but I was grinning through it all. Y'all are awesome.
> 
> Also that moment where Izuku vanishes before the practical? SAME.
> 
> Also giving out the warning now that I am a stressed honors student with a lit review due in a couple of weeks and a research portfolio due after that so updates will be random at best. Don't worry though cause this is way more fun ^.~


	3. What a Game

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In which Izuku makes some friends, gets some threads, and runs into a few walls along the way

The first official school day started like middle school. There was homeroom, and literature, and English, and Maths. Granted, in middle school they hadn't been taught by the Pro Hero's who’s exploits Izuku had followed for as long as he could remember, but aside from the moments of star stuck stupidity it was a strangely normal morning.

The afternoon classes were not. 

"And you have battle training this afternoon so please gather your hero costumes." Aizawa said, revealing boxes that contained their costumes. "I want this finished before-"

"I AM HERE," The class stopped as the door opened. "COMING THROUGH THE DOOR LIKE A NORMAL PERSON!"

All Might in his silver age costume. Izuku swallowed the scream that the situation clearly deserved. All Might had changed from that costume so long ago Izuku didn't think the hero still had it, rather than it being in a museum somewhere, and Izuku had never thought he would see the costume in person let alone see the hero wearing the costume in person.

After that, actually seeing his costume was still impressive, but certainly less so. While he loved the version his mum had made for him there had been some serious safety concerns discussed. Instead she had made him some patches that showed his pins that he could add to his costume, although they didn't look exactly right because she'd only had his drawing to go off. But they were awesome and he was going to add them at the soonest opportunity. 

Izuku had made his costume with a focus on the urban environment. A jumpsuit, moveably baggy, with sturdy boots and gloves with metal supports. It was green, with darker green accents that followed the same kind of pattern that would show up on noise, the important part was that it broke up his body shape for urban stealth. But as a hero to be the aesthetic benefits couldn’t be ignored. There was a note detailing exactly what kind of stress his uniform could be under which reminded him vividly of the shopkeepers whispering what clothes had a defence boost, or regeneration, or something else that would keep you alive just a little bit longer. The final part was a helmet, because the game taught him exactly how much head wounds suck. There was a mask that covered the lower part of his face to filter air, sharp pointed ears that would make anyone going for his head regret it, and some communication features that could be turned on if required.

There was a note for that too, saying that they wanted to experiment which his 'frequency changes' to make a version that could pick him up no matter how he broke the rules of existence (Izuku really wanted to meet whoever wrote the notes, they sounded fun) but for now if he could keep a record of issues that would be lovely.

It was kind of cool, and while Izuku could fight in something that wasn't well suited for it (he had spent two days running around Shibuya in a white dress that, while pretty and having a regeneration boost, was still not the most comfortable to fight in) but he was glad he didn't have to. Also the dress hadn't had pockets, which was apparently a thing with feminine clothing and  didn't make sense. This had pockets, this had pockets all over the place and some of them even zipped closed.

A glance around the room showed a range of reactions for their costumes, some people were finding that things had looked or worked better on paper than they did in real life, and others were finding that their art skills had been interpreted in unexpected ways. Also there was more shirtlessness than Izuku was expecting. Karishima made sense; his quirk would protect any aesthetically exposed skin, but Kacchan, well. Maybe he wanted to increase the range of his explosions? Just because there weren't as many sweat glands on the chest didn't mean there weren't any… But Kacchan really should have been smarter than to leave vital organs exposed.

Aizawa allowed a moment of exclamation over the costumes before he told the class to get out and curled up under his desk in his sleeping bag. All Might laughed nervously and directed the students to go get changed and meet him in the training ground.

* * *

Izuku stood next to Hagakure as they waited to be allowed into the test area. The invisible girl was only locatable by the empty boots and floating gloves that she was wearing. 

"So, how are we gonna beat them?" Hagakure asked. 

"Well, Kacchan, Bakugo, is probably going to come after us, well me, and I don't think he'll work with Iida." Izuku started. 

"Talk about a personality clash." She said with a laugh. "So, if they're going to divide for us how are we gonna conquer?"

Izuku paused and looked toward the fake city. "How good are you at climbing walls?"

"How good do I need to be?"

When the timer started Izuku dropped his frequency and used scan. Iida was thinking about how if there wasn't a proper plan they wouldn't succeed, and Kacchan was extremely focused on exploding Izuku's face. If Izuku said that was unexpected he'd be lying. Izuku upped his frequency to let Hagakure know that he didn't know what floor the bomb was on, so she would need to be extra careful. She had taken the time he was scanning to take of the boots and gloves’ and now there was no sign that someone else was with him. Maybe she wasn't and had already left for the building.

A roar, human, and an explosion, also mostly human, and Kacchan launched himself out of the fourth floor window seeming to take most of the wall with him. 

"I'll head up and meet you there!" Hagakure said. She was completely invisible now and Izuku nodded and waved in what might have been her direction.

The sound of explosions drew nearer and Izuku dropped his frequency. If this was going to work he would only have the one chance. Kacchan was angry but he wasn't stupid. Kacchan landed and looked around, explosions sparking in his hands.

Izuku took a breath, lifted his right hand, and thought cold thoughts. The ice wrapped up around Kacchan who immediately started swearing and setting off explosions. This was where Izuku was worried, because while sharing many characteristics of ice, Long Live the Flow didn't actually create ice, and that could be the difference between winning and losing the exercise. Or his face if Kacchan followed through on those thoughts. If everything worked perfectly then the cold of Long Live the Flow would be enough to delay the explosions.

Everything did not work perfectly. Izuku watched part horrified part impressed when Kacchan let off an explosion that was drastically more powerful than any he had made before and launched himself up and out of the range of the pin.

"Where the FUCK are you, you SHITTY FUCKING NERD DEKU!" Kacchan screamed and let off another explosion. Izuku felt the heat roll over him and gasped as his skin prickled. Then flicked his hand and let a chunk of the rubble Kacchan had made slam into his side. 

Just the once, twice, three times. It hit and Kacchan screamed part in pain, mostly in anger. Izuku considered that maybe he had made a mistake, but he also didn't want to hit him too hard.

Izuku definitely made a mistake because Kacchan started back toward the building he had jumped out of, the direction that the rubble had come from. That could not happen, Hagakure had been confident in her abilities to keep away from Iida, but Iida couldn't explode everything in the area that she might be in.

Izuku hit Kacchan with Long Live the Flow and pulled out the capture tape before he was fully frozen, upped his frequency and wrapped it around him.

"Fuck you coward." Kacchan growled as All Might announced he was out. "Can't even fight fair shitty Deku."

Izuku considered responding, considered a lot of years of unfair fights, and then dropped his frequency. After all, he had a team mate to catch up too and a 'villain' to stop. 

The building the bomb was in certainly looked worse for wear. That wasn't even just because of the hole Kacchan had jumped out of, although it certainly didn't help. Izuku activated scan and sensed Hagakure above him. She was, like he had mentioned, keeping her thoughts as focused on current events as she could, so even though Iida's thoughts were about how long it had been since he heard anything, Hagakure was thinking that she could reach the bomb on the fourth floor if someone took out Iida where he was standing by the only door.

For someone who had just encountered a new way of thinking, Hagakure had adapted amazingly well. Izuku jogged up the stairs and wished he could let her know he was on the way without also letting Iida know. Instead he stuck to the plan, because changing it now would really screw Hagakure over. 

The fourth floor was not as complicated to move though as Izuku thought, actually it seemed like it was a Kacchan choice of floor because all the corners were sharp and the corridors were short, neither of which worked for someone with a speed quirk. Izuku looked into all the doors in the direction of the hole until he came across Iida, and triggered Long Live the Flow instantly. 

Iida's cry of surprise was Hagakure's cue, and Izuku saw the bomb move out of the room and down the stairs, staying behind Iida as Izuku wrapped him in capture tape.

"Heroes Win!" All Might shouted. Izuku grinned and heard Hagakure cheer from outside the room, then paused and looked at Iida. Iida who was still frozen in place and would be for another several minutes.

"Sorry Iida," Izuku said, "It's another three or so minutes before that comes off."

"That is okay Midoriya! After all it allows for Hagakure to get back to her costume." Iida's shoulders twitched and Izuku flashed back to Iida's hand chops.

Once Iida had been released they went back out to join the class and All Might asked who they thought was the MVP of the match. There was silence following the question as everyone in the class looked at each other. Izuku wondered how much of the match they had actually been able to see, with him and Hagakure spending the majority of the match completely invisible.

"Modoriya, right?" Said Jīrō. "He was the one that caught both the villains. It was even non-violent until Bakugo broke out the first time."

"All right, anyone else?" All Might asked flashing a thumbs up to Jīrō. "Don't be shy!"

"I wouldn't give it to Bakugo or Iida." Said Yaoyoruzo. "Bakugo abandoned his team mate without a proper plan, and put his desire to fight Midoriya above being smart about winning the match. It would have been better for Iida to go against Midoriya because if he had the chance to use his speed it would have made capturing him with that ice thing more difficult. And if Bakugo had been by the bomb he would have been able to attack where he thought Hagakure was to get her. Also Iida was watching the door which wasn’t very cleaver when both the hero team has some level of invisibility, but they were going to be going after the bomb so looking at that would have given an indication of where to go.

"That being said, I think Hagakure should be MVP. She got into the building without being noticed and took the bomb at the first opportunity. She even kept it out of Iida's sight so if he broke free it would be harder for him to retrieve it from her, so she learnt from what happened with Bakugo and knew that the ice wasn't guaranteed."

"I agree." Izuku said in the silence that followed. "Um, you guys don't know but one of my quirks skills is the ability to scan the surface thoughts of people in range. I told Hagakure that and she started thinking only about what was going on with Iida and the bomb so I knew what was happening. It's, it's really hard to start thinking like that but she did it really well so..." Izuku trailed off.

"Well, I think that comes out as a consensus then! Congratulations Hagakure!"

* * *

"Hey, Hagakure!" Izuku shouted. The girl stopped and, from the angle of her uniform top, turned to face him.

"Midoriya?" She asked.

"Do you have a minuet? I've never met anyone else with an invisibility style quirk before and I wanted to ask you about it? If you have time I mean, it's fine if you don't." Izuku said.

"Oh, yeah sure! There's a cafe I saw by the train station on my way to school, do you want to go there?" She asked. Izuku nodded and she led the way.

The cafe was closer to UA than it was to the station and in no time at all Izuku and Hagakure were seated at a table with tea and cake.

"So, what did you want to ask me about?" She asked.

"Pretty much everything." Izuku admitted and dug out his extra notebook. "There's no one in my family with an invisibility quirk so, ah, do you mind if I take notes?"

"That's fine, I don't think anyone's really asked me about my quirk since quirk counselling so I'm kind of excited." She took a bite of her cake and Izuku watched as the food vanished once she closed her mouth and made a note of it.

"How would you describe your quirk?" Izuku asked as he laid out a page with Hagekure's name along the top.

"Any of my cells that are exposed to the air allow light to bend in such a way that I am invisible to light based receptors. My quirk is called transparency because at first we thought I was transparent entirely, but it came out in quirk counselling that I'm not. So I'm not really sure how it works exactly." Hagakure said. "What about you?"

Izuku looked up from where he was scribbling notes. "Oh, I call it dropping frequency which is accurate I guess? Basically it's like the visual equivalent of tuning a radio, so I can be on the general frequency where everyone can see me, or I can go down frequency and change the station so then I can scan thoughts, or use telekinesis, or whatever, but I can't be seen. Or interacted with in any way. Although I'm not sure if someone with a hearing quirk would be able to tell." Izuku flipped back to his page and added a note.

"Well, you better not go peeking into the girls changing room." Hagakure said.

"Ah, no what no I wouldn't that's not right." Izuku stammered out, eyes wide and face getting steadily more red.

"I was teasing!" She said with a laugh. "You should talk to Jīrō about the hearing thing though; I think she'd be willing to help."

"Okay." Izuku agreed, adding that under the note he had made on his page. "Can you see yourself?"

"Oh, sure. It would be weird if I couldn't, right?" 

"I guess?" Izuku asked. "I think it would make sense either way. Does that mean your eyes are different to standard?"

"I suppose. My dad has an eye based quirk, maybe I'm more of a mix than I thought." Hagakure said. "Hey, can I borrow some paper and a pen? I think I want to make some notes too."

Izuku pulled out one of the perforated pages and handed it across the table along with a pen. "So what do you look like?"

"I have shoulder length black hair, round face, super pale skin. I would probably have a six pack if I didn't eat so much cake, but life isn't worth living without cake. Umm, grey eyes?" Hagakure shrugged. "It's kinda weird listing features like that. Huh."

"Sorry." Izuku muttered looking up from his notes. "You, you don't have to answer anything if you don't want to. Most people get sick of hearing me talk about quirks."

"Didn't I just say that you brought up questions I never thought to ask? Don't worry Modoriya, if I get sick of this I'll say so." She said. "What about you, you can see yourself?"

"Oh yeah, I don't think my perception really changes unless I use scan?" That Izuku knew wasn't exactly true, dropping frequency allowed for the perception of a lot of things that weren't supposed to be seen by anyone alive. Reapers, players, and noise were all not there to anyone at Real Ground frequency but were also the kind of thing you didn't mention, both for social reasons and that the local and neighbourly Conductor's and Composer's would ruin him. "So if you can see yourself, were you born invisible?"

"No, oh my gosh can you imagine trying to take care of an invisible baby? That sounds like hell. No, when I turned four my hair started growing in transparent and new skin was doing the same. It was really weird for a lot of elementary school cause my baby teeth were visible but nothing else. Well, my eyes kinda took a while too. I think by the time I was five everything but my teeth was invisible, and I think I was eight when the last of my baby teeth came out. What about you? Was there an invisible Izuku sneaking out of time out?" Hagakure asked.

"Haha, no I was kind of a late bloomer? They think my quirk needed a specific stress trigger so it didn't come in until I was ten. And the first thing was definitely the invisibility, then scan, and then the others over about a week?" Izuku said.

"A stress trigger? That sounds unpleasant. Do you-?" She trailed off with a shrug.

"I was kidnapped by a villain group in Shibuya when I was ten, and the woman who was stuck with me died getting me out." Izuku said quietly.

"Oh, I'm so sorry. I, I don't really know what to say but I'm really sorry that happened to you, and if you want to talk about it then I'll listen." Hagakure said. "And if you want to drop it I will."

"Thanks, I um, I don't really want to at the moment but maybe sometime?" Izuku aksed.

"Anytime. Here, pass me your phone and I'll add my details." Hagakure held out her hand and Izuku complied, unlocking his phone so she could add her name, number, email, and take a selfie. Before she handed the phone back she texted herself. 

"Make sure to give me your email too." She said in a scolding tone. The movement of her sleeve made Izuku think that she was wiggling her finger at him too.

"Yeah, okay." Izuku agreed and took back his phone.

"Okay, I don't really like leaving you just, on that conversation, but I also need to leave for my train. Is it okay if I-?"

"Oh yeah, go and get your train. Thank you for talking to me though." Izuku said with a smile and a wave.

"Bye Midoriya-kun, see you tomorrow."

* * *

When Izuku reached the school gates there was already a crowd of reporters, an uncomfortably large amount of whom where accosting anyone who looked like a student that was passing through and shouting questions about All Might.

Izuku considered his options and, after seeing one student leap over the crowd to avoid them, dropped his frequency and passed through the reporters without issue. Then he hit a wall. It was a visceral feeling, Izuku was ten again and desperate to get to Towa records because there was only fifteen minutes left and they'd just worked out the clue and- Izuku took a deep and shuddery breath and shook his head. He'd won the game, the only time limit he had was getting to class on time, it was fine. 

A look around the crowd confirmed that Izuku didn't want to drop frequency for any time, because the reporters would jump him. There was however one person in the crowd that was neither reporter, student, or curious bystander. The red hoodie was distinctive, especially when combined with the black cap under it that obscured their entire face. The fact that they had seen Izuku run into the wall and were cracking up was also a defining feature.

"Hey Reaper-san, can you drop the wall please?" Izuku called.

"Shit yeah, sure thing kid." the reaper wheezed. "Man, that never gets old. Wait, aren't you that kid that won the Shibuya game a while back?"

"Ah, yeah that's me." Izuku said.

"Huh. Well good job getting into hero school I guess. look, I can drop the wall now, but the game's starting up tomorrow and so you're shit outta luck then." The reaper shrugged. "It's clear now."

"Thank you Reaper-san." Izuku said and started towards class. Behind him he head the reaper muttering about having to report UA as a no go zone for the week but that was, well. He probably misheard.

No one in class was happy about the reporter situation, and most of them hadn't managed to get through without at least some interaction.

"And he kept shoving the camera in my face! I just wanted to get to class. I mean, It's not really heroic but I was so tempted to just tap it and send it into space." Uraraka sighed and leaned against Izuku's shoulder.

"While I agree that the presence of news media is distracting but that is no reason to damage personal property." Iida said.

"I know, that's why I didn't do it." Uraraka grinned and poked Izuku, "So, how'd you get past?"

"Uh, I um vanished and just walked through them." Izuku said.

"Oh, like you did before? At battle training?" Uraraka asked, perking up now that the conversation was on something other than the reporters.

"Yeah man, what even is your quirk?" asked Kirishima.

Izuku bit back his first two responses   _what quirk_  and  _nobody knows_   to say, "Oh, um it's an adaptive type quirk, there's a handful of abilities I have but I can only use them if I go invisible and intangible. I can have other abilities but I can only have six, well I guess eight but only six can change and the ones I have are really useful so I don't think I'll change them any time soon."

"Oh that's really cool! I didn't realise you went intangible too, that would be really handy in rescue operations, you could investigate without disrupting anything delicate!" Uraraka enthused.

"I never really thought of it like that. I guess I was always more focused on criminal apprehension? But rescue would be a good fit too. Thanks Uraraka-chan." Izuku grinned.

"I suppose by your mentioning it that you want to go into rescue?" Iida asked.

"Definitely! I've always really admired the rescue hero's because there's not as much publicity around them, but they do such important work." Uraraka grinned.

"You should be in your seats." within five seconds of Aizawa saying so everyone was seated. "Better. You have a new task this morning." Aizawa said as he sat at his desk. "Pick a class president. I don't care how you do it or who you pick, just get it done." Then he pillowed his head on his arms and fell asleep.

"A normal class activity? Am I dreaming?" asked Ashida.

It took a moment for it to sink in and then there was an uproar as everyone in the class declared that they should be class president. Izuku slipped down frequency’s until, although he could still hear everything, he wasn't involved, and no one could make him be involved. Although if everyone kept being so loud then Aizawa would wake up and that would be unpleasant for everyone. As Izuku was thinking about it Iida took charge with impressive hand chops as he called for a vote, because since they had only known each other for a few days the person with the most votes would be the most well suited.

Izuku wasn't sure he followed that logic entirely, Kōda had been very quiet the last couple of days, but he might secretly be perfect as class president and not get the chance. But at least if people were voting Izuku wasn't going to be class president.

* * *

Izuku was class president. Izuku was class president. He, Izuku was class president. The class president of 1-A was Izuku. No matter how it was said, no matter who said it, it didn't sound real. People in his class had decided that he was the best one to represent them.

"You alright, Midoriya-kun?" Asked Uraraka, putting down her tray and sitting next to him. "You seem distracted."

"I just, class president? Me?" Izuku said. Uraraka laughed for a second before she realised he was serious.

"Of course you! I mean, even if you hadn't saved me during the entrance exam I would have voted for you. You're really smart but you care about giving people credit when they deserve it." Uraraka said and wrapped an arm around him with a laugh. "I can't think of anyone better."

"You voted for me?" Izuku asked horrified.

"Duh. Wait, did you not vote for you?" She asked.

"Midoriya did not vote for himself?" Iida asked as he joined the table. 

"Why would I vote for me? I voted for Iida." Izuku said.

"You voted for me?" Iida asked.

"Yeah, you're really smart but also the most organised and rule orientated of the class? And I think we maybe need that. I thought you'd do a good job." Izuku shrugged and tried to shuffle in on himself but Uraraka wouldn't let him.

"I am honoured you think so highly of me, but I also voted for you." Iida said. Izuku let out a despairing sigh that was ignored.

"Hey Iida, this is going to sound a bit rude, but you're very formal aren't you?" Uraraka said, letting go of Izuku.

"Ah, I was hoping I could hide it. I come from a hero family, my older brother is the Turbo Hero Igenium, and I suppose I had more of a formal childhood than others in the class." Iida looked a bit awkward.

"Ah, that's really cool Iida, your brother's a great hero, I guess you want to follow in his footsteps?" Izuku asked.

"Indeed!" Iida nodded, relaxing a bit.

"See, this is why people voted for you." Uraraka said.

"Oh what’s this, the voted for Midoriya-kun table?" Hagakure asked as she sat down.

Izuku groaned and pushed his tray forward so he could start banging his head against the table. Uraraka patted his shoulder and laughed. "It's not that bad." She promised. "Besides, Yaoyorozu will be there to help."

"It's fine, I've been class president before it's mainly just making sure no one dies." Hagakure paused. "Okay, maybe it's going to be harder here than in middle school."

"Don't say that you'll make it true." Izuku said. 

There was a ripple of laughter that was killed by an alarm sounding.

"What is that?" Uraraka shouted.

"That's the alarm that says disallowed people are on campus, they must have got past the barrier! You'd better get to the exit." He said and hurried past, joining the crush of people at the door.

"Oh no, it's a panic." Hagakure said. "I think we might be better off here.

"Something doesn't feel right about this." Izuku said.

"It was the press!" Iida said pointing out the window. The table turned and saw a pack of reporters storm across the grounds. 

"It's a false alarm? We need to tell everyone." Izuku said.

"Good luck getting heard over this crowd." Hagakure said.

"That is it! Uraraka, can you use your quirk on Midoriya and I?" Iida asked.

"Yeah?" Uraraka asked and then blinked. "Oh I see, yes I can do that. Um, Hagakure can you hold them in place?"

"Only me." Izuku said. "Iida should go to the door, for better attention."

"Right." Uraraka nodded and touched each of the boys. As Izuku slowly drifted up he hooked his foot under the table to give the girls enough time to toss Iida towards the front of the crowd.

"It's a false alarm it's the press! It's just the press! You don't need to panic." Izuku shouted over the crowd. Around them people started to calm down.

And then Iida reached the exit door. The momentum didn't stop when he hit the wall, he flailed and managed to perch above the exit sign to deliver his message.

"Is it just me or does he look like the running symbol for exits?" Hagakure asked.

"I wasn't going to say it, but yes." Uraraka agreed. "Hey, Midoriya-kun, I think Iida has the crowd covered, do you want to come down?"

"Please." Izuku said. Hagakure pushed him back to the other side of the table, and Uraraka cancled her quirks' effects on him. Izuku landed with a thump as gravity suddenly took hold with a vengeance.

"Oh, are you okay?" Uraraka asked and held out a hand.

"I'm fine." Izuku said and took her hand.

"Man, meals with Midoriya-kun are way more interesting." Hagakure laughed.

* * *

"So you have a class trip tomorrow?" Inko asked over dinner.

"I think so?" Izuku said. "I think it's still on campus? Or one of the staff runs it? I know we need to take a bus over there."

"Ahh, that's so exciting! Your first high school trip! And you're class president." Inko sighed. "I'm so proud of you Izuku."

"Mum?" Izuku asked in surprise.

"I am. You didn't have a good time in middle school, I know. And I couldn't do anything, but you're so much happier now, I'm so glad." Inko said and wiped at her tears.

Izuku darted around the table to hug her.

"You're the best mum ever." He said. "I love you so much."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Last night I got ten hours of sleep and handed in an assignment, so here's an update to celebrate!
> 
> Hagakure's quirk is one that fascinates me more than I think was intended? because we see her eat but the food isn't visable sooooo there is More than just her being transparent. This is my high school science level explanation. Also, Surprisingly Buff Hagakure is my jam. 
> 
> For those who don't know TWEWY, wall reapers are the way that the game leads you from one place to another, in order to get past you need to do a task (take out some noise, bring them an item, answer questions, ect) and they will drop the wall. They all wear bright red hoodies and black caps but have a lot of personality and I love them (like a bolt from the blue~~~)
> 
> Not gonna lie, this chapter was a lot of build up, but the USJ is gonna be so much fun guys I promise


	4. Reality is Full of Immorality

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In which Izuku does his best in a bad situation

Izuku woke up with a prickling feeling along his spine and swallowed hard. There was a game today. The wall reaper had mentioned it but Izuku had forgotten it with the whole class presidency thing, but there was definitely a game on now. Which meant more noise, more reapers, and players. There would be players.

 

Izuku shuffled though his morning routine slowly. Would players have partners by now? Would they have the day’s mission? How many were already erased? There were more noise on the streets between home and school, not just the ones produced by people's moods; these were summoned by reapers for the purpose of taking out players. 

 

Inko kissed his forehead on her way off to work and Izuku smiled weakly at her. He finished breakfast quickly after that, being alone in the house felt dangerous and he knew it wasn't but it felt like it. He was antsy. Breakfast was finished quickly, but completely finished because you couldn't be sure when you would have another chance to get something to eat. Four years later and the thought of eating instant ramen made him gag. Before leaving the house Izuku dug the American style All Might lunch box out of his wardrobe. It ratted with the pins he'd collected, yen pins mainly, and almost all worth one hundred or five hundred yen. They were useless to him, the ability to turn them into yen was one of the functions removed from his player pin. But there would be players who needed the money this week. 

 

Izuku filled a pocket and left the house. In Shibuya the game had started at the scramble crossing every time, but the Musutafu game changed start much more, so players could be anywhere. Or already gone. Apparently since quirks had come about the games had become much more brutal, or so the harrier reapers would say. A sense of morbid curiosity came over him on the train and Izuku dropped his frequency to see if anyone new appeared. When the train stayed the same Izuku sighed in relief and rose up again. At the station he left some hundred yen pins next to a vending machine. Only players and reapers would be able to see them so there was no worry there. Maybe it would help, it was enough for the food that had a defence boost too, if the players knew about it.

 

As it was by the time Izuku made it to class he was jittery. Sudden noise made him flinch, especially when people's phones went off before class and he had to fight down the urge to check what the mission was.

 

"Midoriya-san." Yaoyorozu said and leaned over to tap Izuku on the shoulder. Izuku bodily flinched away from her then flushed. 

 

"Ah, sorry Yaoyorozu-san, I'm a bit, um, jumpy today." He said with a blush as she looked over him, something like concern in the crease of her brows. "What did you want?"

 

"I wanted to remind you about the trip this afternoon, and to say that we should swap contact information." Yaoyorozu said as she pulled her phone out and unlocked it. "Especially if we need to round up the class for the trip."

 

"Ah, right." Izuku nodded and passed over his phone, filling in his information on hers. 

 

And then Izuku's phone started making the rounds, whether they wanted his contact information because he was their friend, Uraraka and Iida, or because he was class president, probably everyone else. When Izuku got his phone back he sent a mass text to the class with his email attached just in case.

 

When Aizawa showed up to teach the class it took four seconds for everyone to be seated and Aizawa raised an eyebrow at their faces. "I'm not going to give you a cookie for doing what you're told."

 

There was some grumbling, but no one was willing to actually speak up and incur the wrath of their permanently sleep deprived teacher. Even Kacchan just scoffed, with none of the explosions that would have followed one of their middle school teachers saying something like that. Aizawa reminded them that they had a trip that afternoon, not that Izuku thought anyone had forgotten, and then gave them a study period to work on homework before he slipped under his desk.

 

"I can't tell if we should buy sensei more coffee, or keep it away from him for his own safety." Uraraka said.

 

"I think taking away that man’s coffee is the most dangerous thing you could ever do." Sato said.

 

"Possibly the last." Ashido said with a nervous laugh.

 

By the time English class started 1-A was bursting with questions that Aizawa had been too ominous to ask. Unfortunately Present Mic only answered their questions if they asked them in English, and even when they were able to ask them almost properly " _what on the trip will happen?_ " his response was far more complicated than any of the class could understand.

 

"That's not fair Mic-sensei!" Ashido said with a pout.

 

"English!" He reminded her.

 

" _Very mean sensei._  " Ashido said.

 

Unfortunately all the morning classes had the same theme, none of the teachers would answer questions, either they outright ignored that the question had been asked, or they pretended it had been class related and continued on their topic. By the time lunch rolled around the only thing the students were thinking about was the trip. That Midnight's parting words as class ended were that they would need to change into their costumes after lunch did nothing to help.

 

"Come on Midoriya-kun, you have to be curious too!" Uraraka protested. "And as class president you're supposed to represent our interests to the teachers."

 

"I resign." Izuku said immediately. "Iida can be the assistant, Yaoyorozu can be president."

 

"I refuse." Yaoyorozu said as she passed the table.

 

"While I would be honoured to be class president I was not the one the majority of the class placed their faith in." Iida said.

 

"Do you really want me to spoil the surprise?" Izuku asked.

 

"No, not really." Uraraka admitted with a sigh.

 

"Think about it this way, the sooner you finish lunch the sooner you get to get changed and find out." Hagakure said.

 

"Urgh, I think I need to talk to the support department about my outfit." Uraraka sighed. "It's alright for battle training but it's too tight and the material doesn't let me move enough."

 

"Yeah, you aren't the only girl who's mentioned that." Hagakure agreed. "I mean, I had to go sleeveless because they didn't get my arm measurements right."

 

"Your arm measurements?" Iida asked.

 

"I'm buff as hell." Hagakure said. "Maybe we can chase it up tomorrow? We can find any of the other girls who have issues too."

 

"See if any of the more guys have decided they want shirts." Izuku said.

 

"You can't say that while people are eating!" Uraraka protested, clearing up the rice she had spat. 

 

"Mmmhmm." Izuku agreed absently as he texted a ten minuet warning to the class.

 

* * *

Izuku counted the class onto the bus and when he came up with seventeen, checked with Yaoyorozu. They both had the same amount so Izuku climbed in and let Aizawa know they could go before he slumped in the closest empty seat.

 

"Hey!" Hagakure protested.

 

"Ah oh my gosh I'm so sorry are you okay? I didn't mean to." Izuku babbled as he leapt up from the seat. He was bright red and the class was snickering around him.

 

"It's okay, I know, please breath I don't think you've taken a breath in way too long." Hagakure said.

 

With a sigh Tsuyu pulled Izuku over to sit in the actually empty seat next to her.

 

"I am amazed you survived to this point." She said with a sigh.

 

"You're not the only one." Izuku said.

 

"Are we sure Midoriya's quirk isn't actually getting into awkward situations?" Asked Sero.

 

"Rude." Izuku protested.

 

"Probably not suited to heroics either. It's manly as hell to work with what you've got, but you don't want to show up on Heroic Fails." Kirishima said.

 

A collective wince passed through the class. Those compilations were amusing right up until you realised that in a few years you were going to be the one sliding off a roof into a pile of fish guts.

 

"New fear, that." Hagakure said.

 

"Che, losers. Like you'll ever be famous enough for people to care." Kacchan scoffed from the back of the bus where he was stretched over three seats.

 

"While Bakugo is the kind of guy with a flashy heroic quirk and a villains personality." Kirishima said.

 

"Fuck you Hair for Brains." Kacchan shouted.

 

"You shouldn't say things like that Kirishima, everyone here wants to be a hero." Izuku said.

 

"I don't need  _you_   defending me Deku." Kacchan growled.

 

"Don't really care." Izuku said. "It needs to be said, calling people a villain when they aren't just perpetuates the idea that villains are people with a particular quirk, or trait, or anything else. It's not right."

 

"Shut the fuck up." Kacchan complained.

 

"That's how you know Izuku won." Uraraka said in a loud whisper.

 

Izuku groaned and let the conversation carry on without him. It had thankfully turned more too each member of the class's quirks, and any other week Izuku would be taking notes and asking questions.

 

"Are you alright? You've been very quiet today." Tsuyu said.

 

"Mmm, just not a good week for me, I'll be fine by Tuesday at the latest." Izuku smiled at her. "Promise."

 

Tsuyu narrowed her eyes at Izuku and seemed to decide he was telling the truth. She nodded once and returned to the conversation.

 

"Whoa, what is this place?" Asked Aoyama, looking out the window.

 

"Is that Universal Studios Japan?"

 

Izuku looked behind him and saw a large glass dome with USJ in large friendly golden letters. It was a much bigger building than Izuku had expected, and honestly didn't look like it should stand. Stood in front was the Space Hero Thirteen and Uraraka squeaked in excitement. For once it was someone other than Izuku rattling off hero facts at full speed.

 

"No All Might?" Thirteen asked. Aizawa didn't say anything but flashed some hand sign - abbreviated sign language? - and Thirteen nodded. It obviously had meaning then.

 

"Alright then, well I am Thirteen and I developed this Unforeseen Simulation Joint with the assistance of UA to train young hero's in using their quirks for rescue operations. Heroic's is not all stopping crimes and capturing villains. Some of the most difficult and most thankless work is rescue work. It is increasingly important, which is why you are being taught about it now." Thirteen paused for a moment. "So, do you want to go inside?"

 

They walked into the building and gasped. Thirteen explained the different zones, how they were designed to simulate the most common modern disasters.

 

"What's that?" Tsuyu asked and pointed at a swirling purple mist behind Thirteen.

 

"Get back!" Aizawa demanded as the mist revealed two figures, one in a suit covered in hands; the other in a body made of mist, and then cleared further to reveal even more people.

 

"What? I thought All Might was supposed to be here? What’s the point of going through the quests if the boss doesn't show up? Gather quests are the worst too, so dull. Oh well, I bet he'll show up if we kill some of his precious students." Said the hand one.

 

And then it was chaos. Aizawa moved to engage the hand covered villain and Thirteen herded the students toward the door before they were cut off. The black hole Thirteen used against the mist villain was redirected at the hero and. 

 

Izuku knew these tactics, they were reaper tactics. Split the partners up, separate them, take them out.

 

"We need to get out." Izuku said. No one noticed, too focused on the body (no not body form, suit, something that doesn't suggest death) of Thirteen.

 

Izuku spun and looked over the class; there were still nineteen students and, there, Iida. Carefully, not wanting to move fast enough to attract attention, because Izuku could dodge but the rest of the class couldn't, Izuku made his way to Iida. Iida was watching the scene in horror as his hands clenched and unclenched.

 

"Iida, you need to run." Izuku said.

 

"What?" The boy snapped his head to look at Izuku. "What? No I will not just leave you here."

 

"Iida, you are the only person fast enough to get back to campus and get help. We need more heroes’ here." Izuku swallowed hard. "Please Iida, run and get help." You'll do more good coming back with an army of hero's than you will dying here with us. 

 

Iida looked at Izuku and must have seen something in his expression because he turned and sprinted out the door, vanishing in a blur of speed.

 

Unfortunately that was enough to draw the villain's attention to the students again. The mist villain turned and introduced himself, as if that was the concern everyone had, and started to do something. Izuku didn't let it happen. Repaper tactics, split the partners and take them out. Izuku dropped his frequency and hit the mist with Long Live the Flow. The ice spired up the villain and whatever was being prepared stopped. Izuku sighed in momentary relief then snapped his hand out again, freezing the hand villain in place too just as he reached toward Aizawa.

 

When the ice covered his hand it crumpled away.

 

"His quirk! He needs to touch with all five fingers to activate it!" Izuku shouted before he realised he was still on UG frequency. He upped it and repeated himself, catching the attention of the villains and, more importantly, Aizawa.

 

"Get the class out!" Aizawa called back.

 

Izuku tried. He tried, but they didn't listen. Some were too panicked, others to ready to fight. A combination of pushing and Yaoyorozu got a cluster of students out. Yaoyorozu could drive, and was ready to start the bus to evacuate the students. Shoji was carrying Thirteen carefully. Izuku counted them off as they left, Shoji, Yaoyorozu, Aoyama, Ojiro, Kōda, Sato, Sero. Seven students, eight including Iida. No, nine, Hagakure's boots were creeping behind them. Half the class. The remaining students were too stubborn to just go, and Izuku was ready to use Sexy B to just throw them out.

 

Then the ice vanished. Time was up. The mist villain turned his attention to the class, to Izuku.

 

"Well, I must admit this is more interesting than I was expecting." The mist villain said. "And after I was so rudely interrupted before. No matter. Hello students, we are the League of Villains. Forgive our audacity, but today, we've come here to U.A. High School—this bastion of heroism... to end the life of All Might, the Symbol of Peace. Unfortunately he isn't here right now, so you'll have to do."

 

The Villain was about to do something and Izuku dropped frequency, ready to use a third dose of Long Live the Flow, but the villain was faster and did something that rolled clouds of mist over them and they vanished. Izuku stood alone in the UG and screamed. He flicked his fingers sending lighting to arch into the mist villain. There was minimal effect.

 

"Well, that is interesting."

 

And then Aizawa screamed. Not loud and not full, rather like he bit it off part way though, but he did. The hand villain had managed to press his full hand against Aizawa's elbow. Izuku snapped out his hand, freezing him in place as Aizawa wrenched his arm out of the villain's grip. Izuku activated Healing Whale, brought out a can of Happy Whale and after a moment of consideration activated Sexy B to grab the metal part of the mist villain and throw it against the ground and hold it there.

 

"Sensei, drink this!" Izuku said, holding out the drink and sitting in the uncomfortable in-between frequency of underground and real ground. When Aizawa looked at him too long Izuku cracked the tab. "Please sensei trust me. I don't know how much it will help but it will."

 

Aizawa managed to drink it in three gulps and it did seem to have an effect, the blood pouring from his arm slowed. Izuku summoned another can and once Aizawa drank it the blood stopped.

 

"Get out of here." He said.

 

"Half the class has left already and the other half got hit by the mist guy's quirk. I think it’s some kind of transport quirk." Izuku said quickly. 

 

"Where?" Aizawa said as he sat up.

 

"I don't- wait." Izuku dropped frequency fully and activated scan. There were the thoughts of his class mates. There were a lot more than the thoughts of his classmates. "There's more villains in the zones. The class is scattered through them."

 

And then Izuku felt Sexy B run out, like when you thought there was one more step than there was. The mist villain was moving again and Izuku knew the hand villain wouldn't be far away.

 

"Sensei." Izuku said.

 

"Stay invisible, get out. Get help. Go." Izuku gulped and dropped frequency. 

 

Then turned and ran for the Flood Zone. If no one could see him or touch him then he was going to help his friends.

 

Aizawa-sensei was going to be okay, he had to be okay.

 

* * *

Izuku ran through walls and foliage and stopped at the edge of the water. Tsuyu and Uraraka were floating in the air above the shipwreck and a horde of water villains were circling them. One was shark based. Izuku knew how to deal with sharks. He activated Web Spider, flicked his finger and the visible part of the villain. The lighting shot toward him and Izuku used the last three  uses. Seven minuet recharge. But the villain was down. More importantly, the flood zone was salt water. The lighting had arched toward the villain, but Izuku had never used it in water before. The zone lit up with sparks several other villains getting hit.

 

Izuku lifted the ship up two feet and then dropped it down hard. The wave send the villains spinning, largely underwater. That was something to be horrified about later, when he was safe to be horrified.

 

"Midoriya?" 

 

"Over here!" Izuku said raising his frequency. "Hang on!" He dropped again and used Sexy B to grab a chunk of driftwood, he brought it over to the girls to grab and then pulled them in toward him. Once they were close to the ground Uraraka cancelled her quirk and rolled over, vomiting into the water.

 

"Sorry." She coughed.

 

"Don't be, you saved our lives." Tsuyu said. "What's happening?"

 

"Half the class got out, the rest are scattered. Aizawa-sensei is fighting the villains but he's hurt bad. I creatively interpreted his instructions to come here and help two." Izuku rattled off.

 

"Where's everyone else?" Uraraka asked.

 

"I think Kacchan and Tokoyami are in the downpour zone, Kacchan was thinking about how his quick was being messed with. Todoroki and Jīrō are I think in the Fire Zone? and Kaminari, Kirishima, and Ashido are in the ruins I think." Izuku recited. "The only villains not in a zone are the ones Aizawa-sensei is fighting."

 

"Okay, I can go to the downpour zone and help there. I'm frog like enough that the rain won't bother me so much." Tsuyu said.

 

"I don't like the idea of splitting up." Uraraka said immediately. 

 

"You can't get onto the bus, I told them to leave if no one else was out in five minutes. If nothing else it meant that they would get out and get help." Izuku said, but form the looks on the girls’ faces they knew what else he was saying, if nothing else they would be safe.

 

"Okay. Midoriya has better mobility. Maybe we just try and leave. It seems like all the villains are inside. Right?" Uraraka asked.

 

"Yeah, there isn't anyone outside. I think it has something to do with how the warp quirk works." Izuku said.

 

"Right, okay so we'll start looking for a way out that keeps us away from the villains, and you look for the others." Uraraka said.

 

"I don't like that." Tsuyu said. "Look we're safe in this zone, I think a lot of the villains are..."

 

"Down." Izuku said. "I know, I've been trying not to, but yeah I don't think they could." Izuku swallowed hard. "But yeah this zone is clear."

 

"So Uraraka and I stay here and keep it secure, you send everyone this way." Tsuyu said.

 

Izuku looked between the two girls. Uraraka still looked a bit nauseous, but was looking determined too. "Okay, one thing first." Izuku dropped frequency and grabbed the last two Happy Whale drinks. "Drink these."

 

Uraraka nodded, remembering the drink from the exam, and chugged it. Tsuyu shrugged and followed suit. Izuku added another mental countdown, ten minutes before that was recharged. 

 

"Okay, stay safe and if anyone you don't recognise shows up just hide. Better safe than sorry." Izuku said and dropped frequency again. He ran out of the zone towards the Conflagration Zone, it being the closest to them.

 

Of his pins the most useful in the case of fire was Aqua Demon. The pin that Izuku was least practiced with. He'd never used it in a large fire, and as Web Spider had already shown there was a lot of difference that could be disastrous if used in the wrong context.

 

Izuku activated scan and felt the thoughts of his classmates to the right. They weren't thinking the same panicked thoughts that they had been, so Izuku hoped they were alright. There was still four minutes before he could use Healing Whale again. Hopefully there was nothing terrible.

 

There was a villain looming behind Todoroki and Jīrō was busy whacking another with a charred plank. Izuku pointed with his left index and middle finger and a ball of water appeared around the villains head. The villain scrabbled at their face but it bought enough time for Todoroki to deliver a solid kick to the nuts.

 

"Todoroki, Jīrō, over here!" Izuku rose his frequency enough to be seen. Both of them hurried over.

 

"How long have you been here?" Todoroki asked.

 

"Not long, I ran over here from the Flood Zone. Tsuyu and Uraraka are there and we're trying to gather everyone in one place. They have a first aid kit too." Izuku said.

 

"We should go." Jīrō said. "Where from here?"

 

"Head northish, it’s the next zone that way." Izuku said. "I'll be going that way too, I need to get to the Downpour Zone."

 

"I can do that." Todoroki said. 

 

"No, you have a really strong quirk, especially in a place with a lot of water. They'll need you in the flood zone in case something happens." Izuku said. "Please."

 

Todoroki looked hard at Izuku and eventually nodded. The three of them hurried to the Flood Zone and Izuku handed over two cans of Happy Whale for their burns before he dropped frequency and sprinted north.

 

He scanned again and detected the cluster from the ruin were moving. He was torn for a moment before he sprinted that way. At least he could leave them a message.

 

He did, they started moving toward the flood zone, and it was just the Downpour zone again. The sounds of the fight hadn't stopped, but they didn't sound good. Any scan Izuku did kept giving him pain from Aizawa.

 

He needed to reach the downpour zone.

 

* * *

The villains were not the issue in the downpour zone. The combined efforts of Kacchan and Tokoyami had taken them out with only some difficulty on Kacchan's part as the water limited the use of his explosions and his production of sweat. No, the fight Izuku walked in on was between Dark Shadow and his class mates. 

 

Izuku snapped out a hand to use Long Live the Flow, but Dark Shadow dodged at the last moment so nothing happened. Izuku grimaced and flicked his finger three times and let Web Spider lighting arch. The light alone made Dark Shadow cringe and shrink, then Kacchan came in with explosions and Dark Shadow was small enough for Tokoyami to pull it back into his chest, the connection between them snapping like a rubber band.

 

"DEKU! WHERE THE FUCK ARE YOU!" Kacchan didn't so much ask as shout.

 

"Here, they need help in the Flood Zone, please!" Izuku said.

 

"Knew you were fucking useless." Kacchan growled and stalked out, leaving Tokoyami behind.

 

"Um, they have a supplies there, we've been gathering everyone in a defendable place so it's safer."

 

"This darkest night will become a dawn." Tokoyami said. Something about it relieved Izuku, that even in all this his classmate was still making dramatically goth statements.

 

"I hope so. I need to check that everyone is there, I'll catch up." Izuku said and dropped his frequency just enough, tossed the last few cans of happy whale and vanished again before Tokoyami could respond.

 

The pained thoughts hadn't stopped coming from Aizawa, and worse one of the villains was thinking about some kind of secret weapon. Izuku wasn't going to leave Aizawa like that. That was how people died, hair tactics, split them up, take them out, and if at first you don't succeed though something bigger at them.

 

Izuku ran faster.

* * *

Iida ran faster, a knot of guilt in his stomach because he was running away when his classmates were still there still stuck. His legs were heating up, the engines running too hot for too long but Iida wasn't going to slow down because if he did and something happened it would be his fault.

 

He skidded to a stop outside the staffroom and burst into the door. The teachers looked up, annoyance turning to panic at the state of Iida panting and dishevelled.

 

"Villains at the USJ." He panted. "They want to kill All Might, Thirteen-sensei is down, and the class trapped."

 

The teachers snapped into movement. Iida shrunk back against the door frame 

 

_Please let it be enough._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yaoyorozu can drive a moped, that is nothing like driving a bus. Everyone on that thing is calling for help real bad. She regrets listing to Izuku so much.
> 
> I'm so excited about the USJ event because it's after this that we really start to see changes (and I get to try and learn to write fight scenes)
> 
> Also I have a desk in the post grad students room (!!!) which means updates may slow because peer pressure is making me work harder on that (and its way harder to write this on the side when your screen faces the the room) so you know, fair warning and all that jazz.
> 
> Also, thank you to all the people who have been kudosing, bookmarking, commenting, and otherwise reading this, y'all rock.


	5. Rise Up (like a vortex)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In which hell hands out hand baskets and Izuku gets plenty

As the mist cleared Izuku saw the secret weapon revealed and gagged. It wasn't the exposed brain or the giant size that did it, no it was the black spiky wigs that burst from the creatures back, like they were made from wrought iron gates. They were reaper wings.

 

What was that thing?

 

Izuku ran forward, invisible and intangible with Onikiri activated. He swung a glowing right hook at the creature.

 

And.

 

It.

 

Dodged.

 

Izuku stumbled forward with the momentum of his attack. He couldn't think, it had seen him coming, it had dodged his attack. It had seen him. It could see him.

 

He wasn't invisible.

 

And the creature turned and backhanded Izuku. He went flying and slammed face first into the ground. Izuku sat up slowly, things were spinning that weren't supposed to be.

 

"Well, it appears Nomu has swatted a fly." The mist villain said. The cloud that passed as its head looked over in Izuku's direction but didn't see him.

 

Distantly, somewhere in the back of his head, Izuku screamed as several unpleasant things clicked into place. The rest of Izuku was focused on trying to make the world stop moving, but was certainly in agreement with the screaming and would like to join it at the soonest opportunity.

 

Izuku activated Healing Whale and nothing happened. There was still time before it recharged but he didn't know how much, had lost track when the world went spinning. He couldn't hit it with Onikiri, maybe he wasn't fast enough whatever but he needed to use the other pins.

 

Izuku switched to Web Spider and sent four bolts of lighting at the creature, the other four at the hands villain as he moved to Aizawa again. Only one of the villains was affected. Hands screeched something about cheaters and hackers. The creature with the reaper wings didn't seem to notice. That wasn't right, on the last day Izuku had hit a lot of reapers with lighting and it had impacted them, eventually knocked them out. None of them had just shrugged it off with no effect, not even the game master.

 

The hand villain instructed the monster to go after Aizawa and Izuku refused, activated Long Live the Flow and pushed at the thing. The pscy-ice wrapped up around the Nomu and halted it in place. Izuku stood and stumbled in the direction of Aizawa.

 

He didn't look good. The time Izuku had spent running around the zones for his classmates had not been kind to Aizawa, and Izuku still didn't have any Healing Whale charges. He couldn't do anything. What was the point in winning the game if people kept getting hurt around him?

 

Izuku activated Sexy B, gripped the first thing he could, and slammed the mist villain into the hand villain. One of them screeched but Izuku ignored it and instead crouched over his teacher. It wasn't pretty. More of him was injured than not, and some stretches of flesh were missing. In a panic Izuku waved his hand in the direction of the other two villains, activating Long Live the flow to keep them still. He rose his frequency and started tearing at his uniform, trying to find something he could use to stop any of the bleeding.

 

"What are you doing here." Aizawa growled, his voice was wet like Yagi's after a coughing fit. "Get out."

 

"I did, and then I came back. They’re doing harrier tactics, anyone by them self is dead and no one else is allowed to die." Izuku said through gritted teeth.

 

There was confusion in Aizawa’s eyes, that morphed into something else. Panic. Izuku only realised why when the oversized hand wrapped around his chest and lifted him. Arms pinned to his sides there was nothing Izuku could do to get free. The thing squeezed and Izuku felt his bones creak and then screamed as they broke. The monster shook him again once, twice, three times and dropped him. Izuku landed with a whimper that turned scream as his bones grated.

 

"Kill him." The hand villain said and the monster started to move. Izuku tried to move but so much hurt that he couldn't, his hands refused to listen and he couldn't do anything and someone was going to die again because he couldn't do anything.

 

The door burst open.

 

"Do not fear for I am-" All Might's voice made Izuku want to cry. 

 

At that point what Izuku remembered of the fight was a blur. There was a rumble as All Might did something that took the monster out of commission, gunshots from the entrance. Then what felt like too long and too soon the sound of fighting faded away. Izuku was fading too. 

 

"The other student's?" Someone asked.

 

"Flood, bus. Safe." Izuku managed not sure if the question was for him but he knew he could help he could do that if nothing else.

 

There was what might have been the sound of acknowledgment, and then Izuku was gone.

 

* * *

_I suppose some congratulations are in order, you are the first players to beat Hina's game after all. Ah, but the fine print, you see there can only be one winner._

* * *

Izuku woke up to darkness and the smell of antiseptic. His mouth felt fuzzy and he was disconnected from everything else.

 

He drifted.

 

* * *

_Okay, I'll call you Zu-kun and you can call me Sa-chan and we'll team up okay, that way you won't be alone._

* * *

Izuku woke up properly to white ceiling tiles and florescent lights. His throat was dry but there was no tube inside it so he probably hadn't been out too long. He was connected to an IV, he could see it, but his arms were bandaged. He tensed his muscle and flinched, no not bandaged those were casts. And seated at the foot of his bed, head pillowed in her hands, was his mum.

 

"Mum?" He asked, but instead it came out as a croaky "Kkassss".

 

It was enough to wake her, she sat up, eyes locked onto Izuku. She didn't quite manage to say anything before she was crying, loudly. Then Recovery Girl hurried over and saw he was awake and. Well, things got busy after that.

 

There were a lot of tests to see if Izuku was healing right (he was, his bones weren't even broken anymore) and how much pain he was in (none but that was the drugs) and then when the medical checks pronounced him better than expected, there came questions.

 

The questions were not the same as when his mother asked them, she was asking by route just trying to hear his voice and know he was okay. It didn't matter if he just made vague noises and leaned into her, because that was what she wanted.

 

"Well, you have a few visitors dear, and you should be fully healed by dinner time so I'm going to let the more formal of them in first, and if you're doing okay we can see who's allowed to stay." Recovery Girl said. She wasn't presenting options so much as she was explaining the way things would go, so Izuku agreed.

 

First though the door was a police officer in a tan hat and coat, behind him -

 

"Yagi-san!" Izuku cried at the sight of the shock of blond hair. The man smiled at him, looking somewhat the worse for wear. There were definite bruises, but from the angle Izuku was at he couldn't see how serious they were. Was the man getting sicker?

 

The detective raised an amused eyebrow at Yagi, who shrugged with an embarrassed smile. Izuku thought there was something going on, but that could have just been the painkillers wearing off. It was great, he could feel his arms just the right amount. It wouldn't last, soon he would be feeling them too much.

 

"Alright Midoriya-san, I'm detective Tsukauchi Naomasa, and I will be asking you some questions about the events at the USJ. With permission I will have my quirk activated, which allows me to detect if someone is telling a lie. Do I have your permission?"

 

Izuku nodded, and then agreed verbally when it was required. When the detective looked at his mum she also agreed. And then the questions started. They were easy at first, how did they get to the USJ? What were they talking about? Who was he sitting with?

 

They got harder once the focus turned to the events. Inko was gripping his hand and tightened her grip every time something happened. A lot had happened.

 

"Why did you tell Yaoyorozu to leave if no one else came out?" It was better to know that some of the class was safe than none of the class, the villains weren't just going to leave the students alone because they were outside, more people leaving meant better chance at getting help.

 

"Why didn't you leave with them?" Izuku's quirk was uniquely suited to providing support without getting hurt (he wasn’t the one who pulled a face at that) and then he had gone to find the class who was scattered.

 

"Aizawa told you to stay away from the fight." Tsukauchi said. Izuku flinched. 

 

"You don't leave people behind. If you leave them behind then they get killed. I know those tactics." Izuku said. His arms were still in casts, so Inko reached over with a tissue to wipe his eyes.

 

"You wouldn't have been hurt if you had stayed away." He said with a raised eyebrow.

 

"I," Izuku paused. "I think I need to talk to the Conductor." Izuku said slowly. "I don't think I'm allowed to tell you what you're getting at."

 

"Izuku?" Inko asked with immediate and greater concern than anything else had brought up, "Were they something to do with that villain group?"

 

Both the men in the room flinched, although they hid it well.

 

"Villain group?" asked Tsukauchi.

 

"When Izuku was younger he was kidnapped in Shibuya. It took a week for him to be found. The villains were, they were hunting people. Izuku was the only survivor." Inko said carefully.

 

"Conductor-san told me not to say anything." Izuku said. "And I know why, and I can't unless you already know something."

 

"Unless I know something?" The detective asked.

 

"If, if I say Composer, what's the first thing that comes to mind?" Izuku asked.

 

"Music?" Tsukauchi said. Izuku immediately shook his head.

 

"I'm sorry, I can't tell you." Izuku said. "It's very classified."

 

"The strangest thing is that you're telling the truth." Said Tsukauchi. "Huh, well then. I'm going to have to make inquires with the Conductor, thank you for your time Midoriya-san." He nodded to the room and left.

 

"Well then young man, how are you feeling?" Recovery Girl asked. "And you, what did I tell you? If you're going to be in my office you're going to be in a bed." She snapped at Yagi who paled swiftly and sat on the bed next to Izuku's.

 

"I'm alright. Tired, but that's all." Izuku said.

 

"Hmf, well those casts can come off so if you're going to have a deep and meaningful conversation," and that comment was strangely directed at Yagi, "then it will have to wait."

 

At which point she fetched a round saw, plugged it in, turned it on, and took to the casts. The vibrations buzzed though Izuku and made his teeth chatter. The casts came off and Izuku carefully stretched and moved his arms under Recovery Girl's watchful eye.

 

"Nothing hurts, really!" Izuku promised, the only hurt was the pins and needles as his limbs remembered how to limb. Recovery Girl continued to look sceptical, but did retreat to her office to give them the semblance of privacy.

 

There was a moment of awkward silence, although Izuku wasn't quite sure how much of it was the silence and how much was him just being awkward. Izuku was about to say something, anything, when an alarm went off. Inko jolted, grabbed her purse and dug out her phone to silence the alarm.

 

"That’s, if I don't go to work today I need to call them now." Inko said, and looked at Izuku. "I can stay here Izuku, if you need me to."

 

Izuku pushed down the urge to grab onto her and not let go. "It's alright, you should go in, I'll be going to class anyway, right?"

 

"You won't be, UA is closed today. I'm going to call in, they’ll have to cope without me." Inko said and unlocked her phone.

 

"Oh, I'll be fine on my own mum, really." Izuku said. Inko frowned at him and shook her head before she excused herself to call in.

 

At that the conversation started up. In what was probably an effort to fatten Yagi up Recovery Girl brought breakfast by. It was even actual food, rather than the rice pudding and miso soup Izuku expected from hospitals. Possibly the difference was that Izuku wasn't in a hospital. There was a question to ask too, because as much as he didn't want to spend any more time than necessary in hospitals surly it made more sense to send him to one than to UA.

 

"I'm glad you came Yagi-san." Inko said quietly. The man started and looked at Inko like he expected her to hit him. 

 

"When I heard, I was... very worried." He said. "I don't think I can explain how relieved I am right now, all I knew was that something had happened on the trip, and that All Might was being called in." Yagi shook his head and Izuku had the strange feeling of someone other than his mother being worried about him in a long term way. He kind of wanted it to keep happening.

 

"Everything turned out fine." Izuku said. Immediately both the adults in the room nailed him with a look that made Izuku flinch in on himself. "I mean, no one died right?" Izuku paused. "No one died did they?" His breath came in short and sharp.

 

"No, no one died." Inko said, patting Izuku's arm. 

 

The words registered but he was breathing short and sharp and there was a tingling building in his fingers and he needed to breath but he couldn't he couldn't he couldn't. 

 

"Breath with me, ready in two three, okay longer this time, in two three for f-, there we go." Inko murmured. After what was either minutes or hours, Izuku couldn't tell, his breathing retuned and feeling in his fingers was back and.

 

"I'm okay." He said with a shaky smile.

 

"No you’re not, and that's okay." Inko said. "Water?"

 

Izuku nodded and Inko busied herself with that.

 

"Does that happen a lot?" Yagi asked both trying to reach out to Izuku and give him space.

 

"Not for a while." Izuku said. "Kinda just hit all at once."

 

"That happens." Yagi said, not quite looking at Izuku. "It's the body's way of coping. Doesn't mean it's pleasant, but it happens."

 

"Yeah." Izuku agreed and sipped at the water Inko gave him.

 

"Is there anything I can do?" Yagi asked. "If you're worried, that is."

 

"Would you?" Inko asked shooting a smile his way. "Thank you Yagi-san."

 

"You don't have to." Izuku added.

 

"Who said anything about having to?" Yagi said with a smile. "I told you I was worried."

 

Inko kissed Izuku on the head, knowing he didn't like constricting touches after an attack, and thanked Yagi before she left to set up home for a day in. 

 

"Okay, but you really don't have to stay." Izuku said once she left. Yagi raised an eyebrow at him.

 

"It's hours before you'll be able to leave. I'm not just going to leave you sitting here alone and there is no world where Recovery Girl will let you go home alone, so I would have to call your mother in and say how stubborn you were being." Yagi said. "Face it my boy, you're stuck with me."

 

Izuku sighed and accepted it.

 

"Are you alright though?" Izuku asked after a moment, the lighting in the room making the bruises look worse every time Izuku saw them. Yagi burst into surprised laughter that swiftly turned into coughing blood.

 

"Surely I should be asking you those things my boy." Yagi said wiping at the blood around his mouth. There was less of it than there had been other times, but Izuku didn't really have a grasp on the blood situation. His mother was a nurse, he knew that coughing any blood was a bad sign, but Yagi seemed to be held together by duct tape and determination so Izuku really didn't know. "After all, you're the one that got hurt."

 

"I got better." Izuku said. "Really fast too."

 

"You shouldn't have had to. It's the first week; you haven't had any training you shouldn't have had to go up against villains. You should have been better protected and All Might should have been there." Yagi looked at Izuku and cut off any protest he might have made. "You are students, my boy I don't care if it had happened to a third year class, you were students and All Might was supposed to be there and wasted his time and let you get hurt."

 

"I'm glad All Might wasn't there!" Izuku snapped. "Because they wouldn’t have left us alone just because he was there. They still would have attacked but it would have been everyone instead and no one would be able to get out and he wouldn't have been warned that they were after him and he still saved us." Izuku was panting and Yagi looked shocked. "It doesn't, people like that it doesn't matter to them. They want to kill All Might, they planned to kill All Might. Him not being there meant they had to adjust their plan. So don't just. Say that." 

 

"Okay, okay." Yagi sighed. "I'm sorry my boy, I just seem to be making things worse."

 

"S'okay. Just, can we talk about something else?"

 

And so they did.

* * *

 

Izuku was only allowed to leave the hospital bed and get changed ten minutes before when class would have started if it happened. Instead Izuku got changed into some spare clothes Inko had brought when she decided to spend the night. Yagi had eyeballed him, glanced at Recovery Girl who looked a bit like she wanted to strap the both of them to beds and would if they made a wrong move, and called for a car.

 

Yagi didn't spend the whole day with them, but Izuku hadn't expected it. Had expected to watch youtube videos all day and field texts from his mum every time she was near her phone. He hadn't expected she would be there to physically hover over him, but it was kind of nice when he wasn't feeling guilty for causing so much hassle. By eleven Yagi had slipped out of the house for a third call, and each time they got longer.

 

"You know, if it's that important you should just go." Izuku said quietly. "I mean, unless you're trying to avoid something?"

 

"Ah, well I probably will need to leave." Yagi said with a twist to his expression Izuku couldn't work out. "There's a meeting I need to be at."

 

"Wow, and here I thought the heroics industry was all glitz and glamour." Izuku said with exaggerated shock, left hand pressed to his head like he was trying to force the understanding in. "You're telling me there's actually work involved?" 

 

"Oh my boy, I'd laugh, but I think you quoted someone I spoke to last week." Yagi sighed. "No one tells you about all the paperwork. Or the meetings. Somehow nothing gets done in a meeting." Yagi glanced over at Izuku. "Are you sure you aren't about to suffer some horrible event that means I need to stay?"

 

"Pretty sure mum and Recovery Girl would actually kill me if I did." Izuku said.

 

"Oh no my boy, that would be too easy." Yagi said. "Well, I suppose I shall give my apologies to your mother."

 

Inko sympathised with Yagi's surprise meeting, and sent him off with a makeshift bento of things that were going to be for lunch and didn't take long to put together. Izuku amused himself by sitting on the couch and watching Yagi attempt to politely decline while Inko refused to take no for an answer. Yagi would learn, but apparently not before the bento followed him out the door and orbited around his head.

 

Izuku ate lunch and then crashed, stumbled into bed and plugged in his phone to charge before he fell asleep for another seven hours. When he woke up it was still dark, was in fact getting close to when he would be going to sleep normally, and he had a lot of texts. A lot a lot. All from classmates asking after him, if he was okay, if he was feeling better, if he would be going to be at school when it started back.

 

Izuku had never had classmates concerned about him. Had never really had friends concerned about him. He checked the time and thought it over before he sent a mass text to everyone in 1-A saying that he was okay, fully healed, and would see them in the morning. 

 

Then he rolled over and fell back asleep.

 

* * *

 

The class of 1-A looked at Izuku the way Izuku looked at limited edition All Might merch. Izuku gulped. 

 

"Hi guys?" Izuku asked shrinking in on himself as he fought the urge  to drop frequency and hide. 

 

"You lied." Tsuyu said finally. "You said you were just going to get the others and then you'd come back. Instead you went off and got hurt and we didn't know what happened to you because they wouldn't say anything. We were worried." There was an odd tremor to her voice that Izuku didn't- oh, she was crying. That’s what it was.

 

"What were you thinking?" Uraraka asked wiping at her eyes. It was echoed by a lot of the class and Izuku wanted to hide.

 

"That is a question many of us would like the answer to." Aizawa said from the door and Izuku shuddered, the hairs on the back of his neck standing on end. He hadn't heard the man come in. "Unfortunately it is not a matter of classroom discussion. Sit down."

 

Izuku slunk to his seat. 

 

"It is however something that Midoriya and I will be discussing privately." 

 

Izuku nodded and made a concentrated effort to not get noticed. It didn't work, but it gave Izuku something to think about that wasn't the looks his classmates kept sending him or what the conversation with Aizawa-sensei was going to be.

 

When the class was sent out for lunch it took a very stern look to get them to actually leave. Izuku sighed and looked at the space over his teachers right shoulder. He was bandaged, had been since the start of class, and Izuku couldn't help but think how that shouldn't have happened, how his teacher shouldn't have been hurt, that he should have been better.

 

"I was going to expel you." Aizawa said. Izuku froze, but nodded his acceptance. "You ignored my direct instruction with put not only yourself, but half the class in danger. If I had my way you would not be in this school right now. If I had my way you would not still hold the position of class president. Do you understand?"

 

"Yes sensei." Izuku said.

 

"Instead you have another month to prove to me that you are taking this seriously, and that I can trust you to do what I tell you when I tell you. You'll be seeing one of the school therapists this afternoon, and twice a week from then." Aizawa said.

 

"Why? I mean, I understand the probation, but why the therapist?" Izuku asked.

 

"Because the villain that hurt you had similarities to the event when you were younger, and it is much easier to keep hero's from snapping under the pressure when they don't graduate a mess. Or you can decide not to attend your sessions, and leave the school now." Aizawa said.

 

"Who am I meeting?" Izuku asked quietly. It made sense, it did, but also Izuku didn't know what he was able to talk about. He had been dead for a week, and then he wasn't, and the things that happened in that week were classified more than his life was worth. Literally, actually. 

 

"I don't know, whoever suits your needs and has an open slot this afternoon." Aizawa looked at him and sighed. "Go eat your lunch."

 

Izuku nodded and slipped from the classroom.

 

* * *

"Hey, Izuku! We were worried you wouldn’t be joining us." Uraraka said as he sat down. She looked like she wanted to ask something else but refrained and Izuku wondered what conversation had happened about that while he was away.

 

"Are you alright? You seem concerned." Iida said.

 

"I'm on probation, for what I did at the USJ." Izuku said. He poked at his rice and missed the looks that were spread between his friends. He wasn't going to mention the therapist because he still needed to wrap his head around that.

 

"Oh wow, that sounds serious." Hagakure said when the silence stretched too long. "Are you feeling alright?"

 

"I don't know." Izuku admitted. "Can we talk about something else?"

 

"Sure, so I saw a documentary last night about animal quirks-"

 

Izuku let the conversation flow around him, he didn't say anything much, just agreeing that facts were interesting. It was nice having friends who would just let that go, even when they clearly really wanted to know what had happened. And they had spread some of the news, mainly that Izuku didn't want to talk about anything to do with the USJ stuff. That became clear as the day went on and no one mentioned it to him. There was chatter in the locker room as those who had escaped on the bus said what happened there and listened with horror to what the students that hadn’t made it out went through.

 

Battle training was less battle training and more physical exercise. Izuku ran laps and did push ups and followed punch-kick-block combo's and ignored everything else. This was what the internet had told him was an unhealthy coping mechanism, but hey now he had a therapist for that.

 

"Young Midoriya, do you mind staying back?" All Might asked as the exhausted class dragged themselves to the locker room where there were showers and clean clothes. Izuku paused and turned back, hiding a grimace at the encouraging looks his classmates gave him. 

 

"Yes sensei?" Izuku asked. He remembered that Yagi had had to leave the day before because of meetings and that the response to his 'anything on fire?' text had come hours after he'd sent it and had contained nothing reassuring.

 

"Are you alright Midoriya? You were distracted today and while that is understandable you are not acting like yourself." He said, concerned but Izuku noticed the careful distance that was kept and sighed inwardly.

 

"You know about the-" Izuku pulled a face, it was somehow easier to say probation to his friends than to his teacher even though All Might had to already know.

 

"The probation?" He asked. "Yes. And the therapy sessions." All Might continued and frowned at Izuku's wince. "I will admit, starting therapy is often uncomfortable, but please embrace the opportunity. This is not supposed to be a punishment; you had something traumatic happen when we as heroes and as teachers should have been able to prevent that. You have a promising future in Heroics, I don't want to see that end because you don't take care of yourself. It's not easy, I know I did all I could to avoid it when I was your age, but it's important. Okay?"

 

Izuku nodded and tried to crush a sob but wasn't quite successful. All Might made some kind of high pitched squeaking noise and carefully patted Izuku on the shoulder.

 

"Sorry." Izuku sniffed and dabbed at his eyes. He was a crier; he knew how to make it look like he hadn't just been sobbing.

 

"Don't be. If you need to talk to someone, I am always willing." All Might said. "Now, do you want me to distract your friends?"

 

"I, if you don't mind?" Izuku asked.

 

"Of course. Now go have a shower my boy, you stink." All Might flashed his signature grin and Izuku laughed almost normally.

 

* * *

Izuku sat in the waiting room twitching. It was always the waiting.

 

"Midoriya Izuku?" A woman called from the corridor. "Please, follow me."

 

Izuku followed the woman who was wearing all black. A black dress with lace sleeves, black leggings, black boots. There was a pen tucked behind each ear and one had drawn a trail of blue ink on her neck. She opened a door and gestured for Izuku to go in. There was a desk in the far corner that faced a wall and closer to the door, three chairs one on the left and two on the right separated by a coffee table with fidget objects, tissues, and water.

 

"Take a seat where you feel comfortable. My name is Watanabe Taya, you can use whatever name you feel comfortable calling me. Do you have a preference?" She asked, sitting in the single chair. Izuku sat on the one closest to the door. Behind Watanabe was a large painting with lots of colours that when Izuku unfocused his eyes a little looked like a tiger of some kind.

 

"Midoriya is fine." He said.

 

"Okay then Midoriya. Now, in the interest of full disclosure I am a reaper for the Musutafu game. I volunteered for your case as it means you can be honest with me about your past. Are you comfortable with that?"

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I will personally storm UA and put all those kids in therapy I do swear. PTSD in highschool is the worst thing.
> 
> Also, in a world where someone does get expelled for coming last in a preclass test more things have consequences (Izuku only has the class pres spot still because he made sure everyone else was safe and only recklessly endangered himself. Aizawa doesn't like it, but that can be trained out of someone) and that includes the kind of bs that Izuku does here.


	6. This is the Way My Life Goes

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In which Izuku says some things he meant to and some things he didn't

 

 

"You're a reaper?" Izuku asked numb. He had known that there were reapers with day jobs, but it had been knowledge that he didn't think would matter for him. Like knowing New Zealand had three year terms. True, and not going to matter in his daily life.

 

"I am. Are you comfortable with us continuing sessions, or would you prefer to work with one of my colleagues?" Watanabe said.

 

Izuku thought about it seriously. He had always known that reapers had lives in the RG, but had never thought about what that actually meant in a practical way. How they got money, or paid rent. 

 

"Isn't there a game on this week?" Izuku asked. The encounter with the wall reaper seemed like a long time ago but it had been less than a week, it didn't mean that the game was still happening, but still.

 

"There is, however I am not a support reaper, and am not required to actively hunt players. My task is done, and as such I have no other obligations to distract me from this session or future sessions. Are you comfortable talking with me? This is your choice and I assure you it will not reflect poorly on you if you decide to try someone else." Watanabe said. "You need to be comfortable with your therapist, if you are unable to be comfortable with me I will help you find someone else to speak with."

 

Izuku considered it seriously. He didn't feel comfortable with it, but he would take that discomfort to not need to watch his words, to be able to talk about everything without filtering it though to something that made sense to people. To be able to explain the game and everything that came with it.

 

"I'm willing to talk to you." Izuku said finally. 

 

"I'm glad. So, you have been recommended to this service because of the events at the Unforeseen Simulation Joint, and that your reaction to those events caused concern among the staff here. Does that sound accurate?" Watanabe had picked up a pad of paper and a third pen from beside her chair.

 

"Yeah. That’s what Aizawa-sensei told me." Izuku agreed.

 

"Do you agree that this is needed?" She asked.

 

"I think so." Izuku admitted, looking at her knee. "I don't think winners are supposed to remember the game."

 

"It doesn't happen very often." Watanabe agreed. "Would you like me to answer what I can about the reaper game? Or do you want to leave it at what you know?"

 

"I want to know everything you can tell me." Izuku said immediately.

 

"Well alright then." She said with a little laugh. "Now, we still have forty five minutes, would you like to talk about the USJ incident with me? If we have time left I'll answer some questions. Fair?"

 

Izuku nodded and started to explain the whole thing. She was making notes but Izuku didn't really notice, just explaining getting people out, getting people together, every part of him screaming that someone alone was going to die.

 

"That thing, the one with the brain out. It. You're a reaper, it saw me in UG frequency. I attacked it and saw me and dodged and threw me across the room. It, it had reaper wings." Izuku said. "I've only seen reapers with those wings and they don't, you don't get involved in that. Right?"

 

"Unless the city is directly threatened no, we don't interfere with hero and villain interactions. The interactions between individual ideals is what makes the city unique, and the game preserves that." Watanabe said. Izuku sorted that away into a box to look at when he wasn't freaking out about other things.

 

"And I don't think it was a reaper. Or not just a reaper? I don't, fighting it didn't feel like the last day. It wasn't, I don't know." Izuku started 

 

"That distressed you more than the other events." She said. "I understand that the wings would be distressing, but surely you have experienced encounters with noise. Why was this different?"

 

Izuku struggled to explain the utter wrongness that he felt from the creature, how it hadn't cared about things that the GM had reacted to. How it seemed to seek him out.

 

"Can you tell someone? That villains are messing with the UG? However they're doing it it's against the rules, right?" Izuku asked.

 

"With your permission I can bring it up yes. Do I have your permission?" Izuku was nodding before she had finished.

 

"Okay, I'll do that. Now, we will be seeing each other again on Tuesday's and Thursdays. For the time until we see each other next I want you to think about what makes you feel safe, okay? Make a list, and bring it in on Tuesday."

 

"Okay." Izuku said.

 

"Brilliant. Okay, is there anything else you wanted to mention today?" She asked. Izuku shook his head. "Okay, then we're finished for today. It was good talking to you Midoriya, I'll see you next week."

 

* * *

 

Monday came and Izuku rolled out of bed an hour before his alarm. He'd scraped four hours of sleep between one and five and felt like unevenly microwaved death. He was showered and dressed in his uniform with so much time to spare he put together a proper breakfast for Inko who had twelve to eight shift and would be excused when she came home. 

 

Izuku locked the apartment and took the long way to the train. The morning was crisp, sunrise painting the sky a brilliant pink that Izuku resented purely because it was the sunrise he only saw when he hadn't slept properly. Eight hours of sleep would give him a disappointing and muddy sunrise. Anything that left him feeling like death would be picturesque and beautiful. The train was less crowded than he'd expected but still full enough that Izuku had to stand.

 

The train pulled in to his stop and Izuku slipped out the doors with a yawn. Approaching UA there were a handful of reporters by the gate, either it was a slow news day or someone had spread rumours about some of the hero teachers. Izuku dug out a hoodie from his bag and tugged it over his uniform. That alone made him look less like a student of the hero school and more like  a curious kid on his way to school. By the time the reporters realised he wasn't just another random passer-by he was already across the boundary line. The barrier incident was fresh enough in the reporters minds that they weren't going to try their luck following him. 

 

Izuku checked his phone and made a face, there was still forty minets before class, so he was going to be the first person there. Maybe that was a good thing, as class representative he should probably be the first to arrive and the last to leave. Especially where Kacchan was concerned, it was Izuku's responsibility to keep him from ruining school property. That task alone would have him resigning from the position but then Yaoyorozu would be dealing with it alone and Izuku wasn't going to abandon someone to that. 

 

Izuku pushed at the door to 1-A and it didn't move. He pushed a bit harder, and then pulled just in case he was being a numpty, before he realised that no, it really wasn't moving and was currently locked. For a moment he considered just sitting next to the door, or attempting to find the library, and instead dropped frequency and walked through the door. The lights were out, and there was definitely no one inside. That was a relief because Aizawa had fallen asleep under his desk when there was a class of students making noise, pre-class would be a much quieter opportunity.

 

Izuku didn't up his frequency, instead he sat down and worked on the task Watanabe had set him, something he had been thinking about all weekend. He knew logically that part of his struggle was just that right now he was in a bad headspace, he'd disappointed people he respected and that had come after the revelation that a thing so horrifying he hadn't considered having nightmares about it was real. It was hard to think of safe things after all that. 

 

Aizawa arrived barely five minutes after Izuku had sat down. Invisible in every way that mattered he watched his teacher putter around his desk, drop some papers into the draw, sigh heavily, and leave. It was a surreal experience and once a few minutes had passed Izuku upped his frequency to RG levels and forced a smile. It was small and therefore much harder to tell it was forced.

 

Iida was the first of the class to arrive. Izuku was not surprised about that, Iida was the kind of person who arrived early to anything with extra supplies for people in case they forgot. 

 

"Good morning Iida-kun, how was your weekend?" Izuku asked. 

 

"It was very nice! My brother came to visit from his agency; it was good to spend time with him again." Iida said as he set out his desk for the morning. 

 

"Do you not see him often?" Izuku asked.

 

"Now that he has a hero office in Hosu he has been increasingly busy. I am proud that he is able to help so many people, and his dedication to doing so is amazing! It would be selfish of me to complain." Iida said.

 

"I don't think it's selfish to want to spend time with your brother, even if he is a hero. Maybe you could do your internship at his agency after the sports festival? It would give you a week to catch up. I bet he'd have good ideas for how to use your quirk in practice too." Izuku said.

 

"A well thought out idea! I suppose it is to be expected from the class president." Iida said.

 

"I wouldn't go that far." Izuku protested. "But also maybe you should mention that to your brother? He might not realise that you want to spend more time with him."

 

"I suppose that is a better plan. I will mention it to him." Iida said. Izuku didn't push, he was far from the champion of talking about your problems. "How was your weekend?"

 

"Pretty quiet really." Izuku said. "Mum was working night shifts so I was doing house stuff to make things easier on her."

 

Apparently the weekend had been one for family all around. Uraraka had taken the train out to her parents’ house on Friday after class and come back on the early train to get to class on time. Izuku dug through her bag and tossed her an apple, it would be better for keeping her awake than coffee would, and coffee was hard to come by on campus. Possibly the staff didn't want anyone to turn out looking like Aizawa. Possibly Aizawa got to it before anyone else.

 

"Oh, I saw an arcade when I was getting breakfast, do you guys want to go after school?" Uraraka asked.

 

"I would be delighted to join you." Iida said.

 

"Yeah, sounds like fun." Izuku said. "Do you want to invite anyone else?"

 

"Maybe the lunch table group? I'm not sure I'm going to be awake enough for a proper class outing." She smiled around a yawn.

 

"If you are tired you should rest not go to the arcade!" Iida said.

 

"Ah, I just don't want to get back to the apartment and fall asleep right away, then I'll ruin my sleep schedule." Uraraka explained.

 

"Well, okay I'll text Hagakure and, um, anyone else?" Izuku asked. 

 

"Just her for now, we can see later, right?" Uraraka said. "Thanks for texting her Midoriya-kun."

 

"It's no problem." Izuku said. "Make sure to take it easy in training today, okay? You don't want to get hurt because you were too tired."

 

"Especially not with an afternoon at the arcade to look foward to!" Uraraka laughed.

 

"You should be careful for your health not afternoon plans!" Iida protested.

 

"And here I am, doing both." She teased.

 

The rest of the class started to arrive at that point, only fifteen minutes early which was the kind of reasonable and logical person early. Uraraka sat on Izuku's desk and told him about her parents, and some of the friends from middle school she had seen. Izuku asked a lot of questions and watched the class file in. 

 

Todoroki had a bruise peeking up from his collar, and was walking in the careful way you did when you wanted to keep your clothing from moving. Izuku watched him sit down and looked away quickly when Todoroki looked over. It probably wasn't anything, but if he was hurt why try and hide it? Recovery Girl might sigh over it but she'd heal something that was causing that much of an issue.

 

And then Aizawa slowed up and the class jumped to their seats. That earned them a raised eyebrow before the start of homeroom. 

 

"The sports festival will be taking place in a month. You will all be expect-"

 

"Is holding the sports festival now really such a good idea?" Was the loudest statement from the class, but certainly not the only. Izuku looked at Aizawa with wide eyes, and then clapped out a rythem of clap, calp, clap, pause, clapclap.  Half the class echoed it back and seemed surprised that they had, that was enough to quiet everyone down. It was amazing how instinctive that was, and how long it lasted after elementary school.

 

"Thank you Midoriya. Yes the school has decided to continue with the sports festival, in order to provide a sense of normality for everyone. You should all be able to work out why it will still be happening. That means that you will be representing the school, so do not embarrass yourselves. You will be having your internships after the festival, and it is not unheard of for offers to be given to first year students who do well." Aizawa said. 

 

* * *

The table at lunch was full of conversation about arcade games. Hagakure was extremely excited to go along, and apparently terrifyingly good at rhythm games, although that remained to be seen. Uraraka was making jokes about the UFO games and defying gravity.

 

Maybe when the concept of the whole class going somewhere together didn't make Izuku feel sick they could plan a class outing. It would be nice to be able to get to know everybody casually and without a class outcome hanging over their heads.

 

"Ah, so what are people thinking about the sports festival? I really want to stand out." Hagakure said. "But Aizawa sensei didn’t even mention what we would be doing."

 

"UA doesn’t publicise the events until the day, I guess they don't tell the students either. It does make it harder to plan for though." Izuku said.

 

"Well, I suppose that's realistic right? Like the start of the practical exam." Uraraka said, neatly dancing around any mention of the USJ. 

 

"As expected from a school as prestigious as UA! they are always ready to test us." Iida said.

 

"Maybe." Izuku said. "Oh, Hagakure, did you talk to your parents about your quirk? Did your dad say anything?"

 

"Oh right, yes I did. It was really interesting actually see," Izuku listened as Hagakure explained the kind of eye quirks that her dad's side of the family tended to have, and how her great uncle was known for being able to see in UV and Infrared (both things that he didn't recommend when you were in public) and how they thought that had interacted with her in some way to allow her to see herself. 

 

"It's really strange, because untill the mentioned it I don't think they knew I could see me? Like when I complained about something not being my colour it was a joke and not actually because I really don't suit that dress my grandmother got me." Hagakure said. "I think dad wants to meet you, something about discussing quirks in new ways. You really don't have to do anything you don't want to though." She added.

 

"No, I think it could be fun. Maybe if we do training this weekend I could go over for lunch? Or something?" Izuku asked.

 

"Sounds like a plan!" she agreed. "I'll text you tonight with some ideas."

 

"Awesome. Hey, Iida, you should see if your bother is able to help you train. I'm sure he'd want to help you do your best." Izuku said. 

 

"Ah, well, perhaps I will ask him." Iida dithered. "What about you Uraraka? Do you know how you will be training for the festival?"

 

"Not really. Probably like how I was for the entrace exam." Uraraka shrugged.

 

"If Izuku's fine with it you can join our training sessions." Hagakure suggested.

 

"If you want to, I think it would be great." Izuku said. "We can do some stuff after school if you want to spend weekends with your parents too." Izuku offered.

 

"Thanks guys! That sounds good. I wonder if any of the teachers would help us?" Uraraka mused.

 

"'All Might sensei will probably push us hard in training." Izuku said. "I think there will be a lot of drills in our future."

 

The girls shuddered theatrically and then giggled as Iida started explaining the benefits of those drills. Izuku let a bit of tension slip out of his shoulders and watched them with a smile.

 

* * *

 

There was a reaper decal on the wall of the arcade, it was easy to miss, but it was there. The X with the scull above it looked like any other part of city graffiti but unlike the rest that would get washed off or painted over or covered up by other people with spray paint and an idea the reaper decal would remain. Izuku didn't understand how they worked, but buildings with that symbol on them would make players able to interact with the RG. They were the buildings that had food, clothes, pins, and anything else someone needed to survive the game. 

 

Now that Izuku wasn't a player they just made the threshold feel prickly. It was probably what it felt like for someone when Aizawa stopped their quirk, like there should be something there but there wasn't. 

 

Hagakure challenged Uraraka for a game of DDR and that was amazing to watch. Hagakure was really good, but also there was something incredible about watching someone who really looked like a bunch of clothes moving on their own, dancing. Uraraka was less good, and stumbled on a few of the moves. Izuku was glad no one had asked him to try it. He was not good at those games and too pervious to play them in public. Instead he chaired the girls on until they finished. 

 

As a group they made their way through a lot of games, not all of them because the arcade was two stories and jam packed with games, but a lot. Hagakure even dragged them into a photo booth to take photos, where Uraraka stuck a standard  :) smiley over the space that Hagakure's face would have been. It had very distressing eyes. 

 

They finished with a pass to the UFO machines, where Izuku saw the pin capsules. The pins were taped into plastic cups that had a handle so the claw could gap it. There were two people standing in front of it, one carefully manipulating the controls, the other glancing around the room like everything was out to get them. It was something very familiar to Izuku. 

 

He slipped over to them and dug into his pocket, pulled out a handful of random yen pins and put them down next to the players. "Good luck." He added quietly when the one who wasn't playing jumped and looked at him with wide eyes.

 

"Thank you." She said equally quietly as she pulled out her phone and activated the app. Izuku smiled at her and slipped away to join up with his friends. If those two were clever they would check the counter upstairs and realise you could buy some pins for 6000 yen.

 

"Ah, Izuku you vanished on us!" Uraraka complained.

 

"Sorry! I thought you went left when you went right." Izuku explained with a blush. "What are we doing next?"

 

"We should eat something healthy and nutritious." Iida said with rapid hand chops. "That is not Sunshine Burger." He added.

 

"They have salads!" Hagakure said. "That's healthy!" Uraraka giggled at the two of them as she herded them out of the arcade. The prickly feeling stopped and Izuku knew that he could drop frequency again.

 

"I'd prefer not to go to Sunshine." Izuku said. "Um, isn't that cafe we went to near here?" He asked Hagakure.

 

"They aren't open Monday's, it broke my heart." She bemoaned. "Who doesn't open on a Monday?"

 

"Lots of places." Uraraka said. "Especially ones that were open on the weekend."

 

"But I didn't want to visit in the weekend." Hagakure said.

 

They ended up getting bubble tea and taking over a booth. Izuku leaned into the cracked vinyl with a sigh. Iida was looking as his green tea like it had betrayed him in some way and Hagakure was taking sneaky photos of his face.

 

"Can I ask you something kind of awful?" Uraraka asked. "I mean, you don't need to answer if you aren't comfortable or anything, but I think I need to ask."

 

"I guess?" Izuku answered and chewed on his straw. "What did you want to ask?"

 

"Why didn't you let us help you?" She said finally without meeting Izuku's eyes. "I understand wanting to help Aizawa-sensei, I do. But we would have helped you if you asked."

 

"I know you would have." Izuku said. "That's, I, there's some things I can't tell you. But, the villain attack triggered a flashback I guess?" Izuku crouched in on himself.

 

"Like, what you told me last week?" Hagakure asked.

 

"Yeah. Their methods were, were very similar." Izuku said and it wasn't wrong, not really. "Um, okay so the not as long story. When I was ten I got kidnapped. There was a villain group in Shibuya that liked to. Hunt. People. They said if your pair survived a week that they would let you go. I think it only took four days before Sa-chan and I were the only ones left. The only way you could survive was if you were together, so they separated people, got them alone and apart and." Izuku paused to swallow. "They lied though. A winning pair didn't get to live, only one person did. She, protected me and then she died for me and then the Conductor showed up when she was already gone." Izuku scrubbed at the tears in his eyes. "It was the same tactics. And I just, I didn't want any of that to happen again."

 

"You were ten?" Uraraka repeated. "I want to ask if you're okay but, you're not." She said.

 

"Ten and quirkless. They say the stress triggered it." Izuku said. "I knew you were safe with everyone. So I left. I'm sorry." Izuku said.

 

"It's okay." Uraraka said. "Just, if something reminds you of that again let me, let us, know. Even if it's nothing, if you're worried we can help. It's what friends are for."

 

Izuku nodded and choked out a sob.

 

"Midoriya, are you seeing anyone about this? My brother often stresses the importance of Hero's taking care of their mental health alongside the physical." Iida said. Izuku appreciated change of focus.

 

"Yeah, that's part of what Aizawa-sensei said to me on Friday. I'm talking to one of the school counsellors twice a week. She has the clearance to know a lot of the details so, yeah." Izuku said.

 

"I'm glad." Iida said. "And know that I agree with Uraraka-san, even if it feels like nothing important, we are your friends and you should be able to rely on us in situations like that."

 

A double handful of paper napkins from the counter appeared in front of Izuku, scrunched slightly. "Here." Hagakure said.

 

"Thanks." Izuku mumbled.

 

"The girl at the counter offered you some ice if you want it, apparently it's good for when you've been crying?" Hagakure sounded unsure. Izuku shook his head. 

 

"It's okay, I'm a crybaby anyway so I'm used to it." He said. "Ah, in other news, did anyone understand what Mic-sensei wanted us to do for homework?"

 

The change of topic was accepted immediately, even if there were a few looks traded, and the conversation moved on to word lists and how awful the English language was. Izuku really loved his friends.

 

* * *

Hagakure Tōru created the group 'Class President Protection Squad'

 

Hagakure Tōru added Iida Tenya, Uraraka Ochaco, and Yaoyorozu Momo to the group.

 

Hagakure Tōru: This is the group for concerned friends of Midoriya Izuku. And Yaoyarozu.

 

Yaoyarozu Momo: Why is this a thing?

 

Hagakure Tōru: Becasue it needs to be

 

Uraraka Ochaco: Can confirm. Important group. Sorry Yaoyorozu I dont think we should just tell you

 

Yaoyorozu Momo: Okay? Why add me then?

 

Hagakure Tōru: Because you will be spending time with him and should be in the loop and keeping us in the loop

 

Iida Tenya: I do not approve of going behind a classmates back like this, however in this case I believe it may be justified.

 

Yaoyorozu Momo: Oh shit. 

 

Yaoyorozu Momo: Okay, what can you tell me?

 

Hagakure Tōru  _is typing..._

 

* * *

 

"Did you have fun at the arcade?" Inko asked over dinner. Izuku had pushed his homework into a pile at the side, ready to resume while his mother got ready for work that evening.

 

"Yeah, it was fun. I think Hagakure almost killed Uraraka-chan though. I don't think they should be allowed to play DDR together again." Izuku said.

 

"Well, if they survived that they'll survive anything." Inko said with a laugh. "You should invite them over some time."

 

"Not until you're on day shifts again." Izuku said immediately. "I don't want you losing any more sleep."

 

"I thought it was my job to worry about you, not the other way around." Inko scolded laughingly. "You don't need to worry about my schedule if you want to have friends around."

 

"I know." Izuku agreed. "Doesn't mean I don't want to."

 

"Fine. I'm going to be going in early tonight, is there anything you need?" She asked and the empty dishes floated themselves to the kitchen.

 

"No, I'll just work on homework." Izuku said.

 

"Text me if something happens." Inko said. "Okay, good night sweetheart. Don't stay up too late."

 

Izuku worked on his homework for a bit, enough time to be sure that Inko wasn't going to hurry back to grab something she missed. Before he pulled out his phone. It opened to the contact page immediately and Izuku hit the call button.

 

"Hello? Midoriya? is something wrong?" Yagi asked.

 

"Do you ever tell someone more than you meant to? Like you start talking but don't stop and then you don't know how to interact with them because you never thought they would know what you just let them know?" Izuku asked in one rushed breath. Yagi was quiet on the other end.

 

"Why don't you start from the beginning?" The man offered. "Don't worry, I always have time for you."

* * *

 

"Um, why is there a crowd outside the classroom?" Izuku asked Yaoyorozu was the only other person from 1-A there and she had a hand pressed to her forhead like exisatnce was causing her physical pain.

 

"Apparently Class 1-B thinks you and Aizawa-sensei almost getting murdered by villains is a cool class event and we're stuck up for not wanting to talk about it now they've demanded it." Yaoyorozu said. 

 

"Wow." Izuku looked over the crowd and sighed. There was a way to end this quick but it was going to suck, and make him look like a jerk. But it would be over, so that was the plan he’d stick to. "Oi, are you training to be heroes or rubberneckers?" He asked the crowd, apparently enough rumours had gone around that he was recognisable. "What, you want me to tell you how I thought everyone in the class was going to die? How I felt my bones break  and couldn't do anything but scream? How I sent half the class to go get help but had no idea if they'd be safe? How I've been put in therapy for the next month because of it?" Izuku took a step toward the leader with each question. "Well? Do you want to trade the nightmares we've all had? The broken bones? Do you?"

 

"What's wrong with you?" The blond kid said as he recoiled. There was a purple haired kid off to the side who was watching with narrowed eyes, but if he was going to keep quiet then that was fine.

 

"I'm not the one standing outside your classroom demanding answers to traumatic events." Izuku said. "So I think the better question is what's wrong with you?"

 

"I don't know what's going on here and I don't care, if you aren't in my class go away." Aizawa said from behind 1-B. The blond kid paled and scattered with his class. Aizawa watched them go with a raised eyebrow. "Just for the record Midoriya, that's not how you get off probation, but your restraint did not go unnoticed. Get inside."

 

"Yes sensei."

 

* * *

 

"Do you understand how your game was non-standard?" Watanabe asked.

 

"Other than me winning you mean?" Izuku asked. The reaper arched her brow and waited. "There was a villain attack, an actual one not the cover story. There were a lot more players for the game and not a lot of time to set things up. The GM, Hina, decided that the easiest way to deal with it was to go for a sweep." Izuku said. "It didn't work. But the support reaper at 104 said that 73% of players had been erased that first day. I think a lot of the pins that were given out weren't going to work for the people who had them. It was probably intentional." Izuku looked at his knees. "By day five we were the only pair left. We almost failed that day's mission; I think we had six seconds left."

 

"That’s not inherently against the rules. It is somewhat frowned upon when players don't know the rules, but Shibuya set something of a precedent with that long game they did a while back. And sweeps are high points for the reapers." She said.

 

"Why do reapers worry about points?" Izuku asked.

 

"Because playing the game is how we continue to exist. Players gain points for the chance at winning, reapers gain points to extend how long they can exist. The manner of gaining points differs between the reaper classes, but all need it." She explained. "I don't know why that's in place, but it is."

 

"I never really thought that the reapers were playing a game too, that they had stakes." Izuku said. "It kind of just felt, mean I guess?"

 

"I can understand that. The game isn't supposed to be easy for players to win. On that topic,"

 

"Oh dear." Izuku interrupted with a shaky smile.

 

"Did you manage to think of anything that makes you feel safe?" Watanabe asked.

 

"Erh," Izuku looked back at his knees. "I tried, I really did. But, I'm not thinking about things in a way that makes me feel safe?" Izuku pulled a face. "I don't know how to explain it."

 

"That's okay, just try." Watanabe said. “It’s amazing how often faking it until you make it works.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Apologies folks, I'm in due date hell for the next two weeks so who knows what kind of schedule there'll be. I do still have buffer chapters though, so with any luck you won't notice. 
> 
> This chapter and the next are a whole lot of character interactions and explaining some bit of how this version of the game works. It's a mix of cannon, secret reports, and head cannon, because making game mechanics make sense in the ... real world???? isn't just one to one. So players have phone apps because the phone menu controls everything, and you can totally win pins from claw machines. There's probably a Tin Pin Slam game somewhere in that arcade, but everyone just uses the app now. Mingle PP will be the end of me in this fic.


	7. What You can do Today

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In which training happens, conversations are had, and a terrifying monopoly game takes place.

"You need to at least try Midoriya!" Hagakure said from where she was sat against the wall in an invisible chair. Apparently she actually enjoyed wall sits. "Didn't you say you cleared that beach over summer or something?"

 

"That didn't require wall sits!" He protested. His knees were shaking. He could feel far too much of his legs. "I would rather suicide runs than this. Has it been three minutes?"

 

"Hmm? Oh, it's been six, don't you feel accomplished having done double the time?" Hagakure asked. Izuku groaned and slid down the wall. "Eh, Izuku? isn't it a good feeling? Are you perhaps feeling.... the burn?" She cackled and slipped into a stretch.

 

He ignored her and sat with his feet pressed together and his knees out and leaned on them. There wasn't much of a stretch, Izuku was flexible, and both legs were pressed flat against the ground and his heels were as close to his crotch as his leg muscles let them be. "I hate you." He said. "And once my legs listen to me again I will make you suffer."

 

"How are you going to do that?" Hagakure asked.

 

"I don't know yet," Izuku said. "and I don't know when, but i think you're evil and will deserve it."

 

"Says the guy who ran circles around me on our run." Hagakure said. "Literal circles. Turnabout is fair play."

 

"I want Uraraka here so all your attention isn't on me." Izuku changed position, stretching both legs out in front of him in a V and reaching for his left toes. "What's next?"

 

"Bet I can do more push-up's than you." She said and dropped down into a plank. "Unless my utter domination of wall sits has you chicken."

 

"You're on." Izuku said and abandoned his stretches. "On three?"

 

"One."

 

"Two."

 

"Three!"

* * *

 

"I regret so much." Izuku said as he sunk into the tub until only his nose was above the water.

 

"Well," Inko said from the door where she had collected the various muscle soothing solutions in the house, "that's what you get for ignoring stretches and a warm down."

 

"Aren't you supposed to sympathise with me?" Izuku asked. He had tilted his head just enough to be able to speak.

 

"Of course sweetie, but I also know you know better. I'm sure school tomorrow is going to be a lot of fun. You have battle training on a Monday, don't you?" Inko asked, knowing full well that the answer was yes.

 

"Mum, I love you, but also I hate you." Izuku said. Inko laughed.

 

"Then all is as it should be. When you're finished, use the gel on your legs and the cream on your arms. Don't put either near your face if you don't want terrible things to happen."

 

"Thanks mum."

 

When Izuku went to be he felt like something that greatly resembled human. When he woke up in the morning he regretted everything that he had ever done in his life. He didn't want to move, and couldn't lift his legs much without the muscles screaming at him. Perhaps he and Hagakure shouldn't be work out buddies, they were a bit too willing to push each other. 

 

There was a quiet 'virrr' as his phone vibrated ageist the bed covers. Izuku swiped open the message and laughed.

 

Hagakure Toru: If you still want to end me nows good

 

Izuku texted back 'suffer' and shuffled to the bathroom. Hopefully hot water would make moving something that he wanted to do, or at least could do with anything resembling speed. His mum was working hours that actual normal humans got to exist in again so she was already seated at the table, eating and reading though an article on diagnosing skin conditions for individuals with quirk mutated skin. 

 

"Morning." Izuku said as he considered if it would be more or less painful to sit and eat than stand and eat.

 

"Still achy?" She asked. "Be careful, make sure you don't do yourself more harm than good, okay?" 

 

"I know mum, I know my limits." At the very least he had a thorough understanding of them now. He decided to sit and his thighs screamed at him when he did. "Anything interesting?"

 

"Not really. Just more confirmation that if Doctors took symptom complaints seriously that there would be major reductions in a whole range of things, especially in those whit skin level mutation quirks. There was another one about diagnosing cancerous cells in people with self-healing quirks that was much more interesting."

 

"I might mention them to Hagakure." Izuku said. "She's been doing a lot of research on how her quirk works."

 

"I'll print out some extra's at work." Inko promised. "And when do I get to meet these friends of yours?"

 

"I think we have a study night planned on Friday? If you're okay with it we can have it here." Izuku trailed off. Nursing was hard, coming home to a house of teenagers was probably not her idea of a relaxing evening.

 

"That sounds like a great idea. I'll pick up some extra's from the store on Thursday, so let me know what everyone wants to eat before then okay?" Inko said with a sunny smile. "I'll work out something for desert too."

 

"Okay?" Izuku asked.

 

* * *

 

@InvisaBuddy 

Playing monopoly at @TinyMightyFan 's house. Got real real fast

 

@Invisabuddy

In jail for the third time in like six turns. Everyone else has a house by now

 

@WindyWeirdsday

@InvisaBuddy HOW????

 

@Invisabuddy

@WindyWeirdsday luckbealady.gif

 

@InvisaBuddy

I have 3 properties of dif colours. There are 12 hotels on the board. Plz send help

 

@InvisaBuddy

IM IN JAIL AGAIN WTAF

 

@InvisaBuddy

got out, had to give up Umeda to pay rent V.V

 

@InvisaBuddy

THERE ARE 4 HOTELS ON GINZA and im back in jail

 

@duckyoutoo

@InvisaBuddy has the truest monopoly thread rn

 

@InvisaBuddy

@duckyoutoo SAVE ME

 

@InvisaBuddy

We have run out of hotels. I didnt know that was a thing that happened and yet...

 

@InvisaBuddy

Oh shit 

 

* * *

 

"That's like paying tax with paper you wrote numbers on Midoriya-kun! If it isn't a part of the official game pack then it is not going to have a place on this board!" Uraraka glared across the game.

 

"You're only saying that to keep control of your cruel hotel empire!" Izuku protested. 

 

"My hotel empire is perfectly legal." Uraraka said.

 

"As amazing as this is can you please just decide on something so I can roll out of jail?" Hagakure asked.

 

"No!" They both shouted. Hagakure shrunk back and held out her hands, either to placate them or defend herself.

 

"The outcome of this will decide the future of this game!" Izuku said with a gesture at the board. "You, Uraraka-chan, have created an unfair empire and now you're trying to make up rules that say we can do nothing about it!"

 

"it's called Monopoly Midoriya-kun, I'm literally just playing the game." Uraraka threw her hands up in the air and groaned. "Iida-kun, you're with me, right?"

 

"I have found precedents on both sides." Iida said form behind his phone. "And as such cannot provide a clear ruling. Also, for the record, Hagakure has been tweeting this."

 

"Hey!" Hagakure protested as she hid her phone behind her leg. The leg that was bare from the knee down and therefore not good at hiding things. "Don't tattle!"

 

"What is going on here?" Inko asked. The four teens froze and turned to face the door.

 

"Hey mum," Izuku said lightly, "er, hello Yagi-san?" He asked seeing the shock of blond hair behind her.

 

"Midoriya my boy." Yagi said with a nod. "I hope you don't mind me joining you, I'm afraid your mother saw the contents of my shopping cart and wouldn't take no for an answer."

 

"Exactly." Inko said with a nod. "Do all your parents know where you are?" She asked the teens. There was a mumble of accent and she nodded. "Well then I'm going to get dinner started, I'm sure Yagi-san wouldn't mind solving this for you as an unbiased third party."

 

Yagi stared at Inko, eyes wide with betrayal, as she smiled sweetly and wandered off to the kitchen. Izuku gulped.

 

"Wait, how can we know you won't just take Midoriya-kun's side?" Uraraka said.

 

"Ah, well, I'm All Might's secretary, so I would be insulting the office by playing favourites." Yagi said and looked desperately between the players. "Is that acceptable?" The way he asked Izuku was sure meant he wanted them to say no and call Inko back.

 

"Yes? Wait, Midoriya-kun, you know All Might's secretary?" Uraraka asked.

 

"I'd like it known for the record that I just want to make my roll, please." Hagakure said.

 

"Okay, well, why don't you tell me what the issue is?" Yagi asked. There was an immediate uproar as Izuku and Uraraka each pled their case at the same time while Iida called out precedents that each side had. From the kitchen Inko laughed.

 

"So, what do you think?" Izuku asked.

 

Yagi looked at each and them and sighed. He reached out for the game board. "Unfortunately there has been a large, well-coordinated, villain attack," he said as he shook the board twice, sending a range of houses and hotels sliding away. "The insurance companies get stingy so only the buildings that are still on their assigned land can remain, all others," he reached out and grabbed a stack of fallen hotels, "will have to be rebuilt at owners expense." Yagi nodded and ignored the shocked and betrayed looks that Izuku and Uraraka both were giving him. "Hagakure-san, I believe it's your roll."

 

"Finally!" She called, and put down her phone to roll the dice. She got doubles. "Yes! I'm free!"

 

Izuku and Uraraka looked between the game and Yagi in shock.

 

"Uraraka-chan, it's your roll." Hagakure said. "Uraraka?"

 

The girl looked at the game with steely determination in her eyes. "I will rebuild." She said, and rolled the dice. Izuku whimpered.

 

* * *

 

"Good afternoon Midoriya, how have you been?" Watanabe asked.

 

"Good. I'm feeling, settled I guess? It's been good." Izuku nodded.

 

"I'm glad to hear it." Watanabe said with a smile. "Is there anything you can point to for this change?"

 

"I don't think so? I think it was mostly a lot of little things." Izuku said. "I don't know what actually did it."

 

"There isn't always a clear reason. I would suggest making a list of things you did these last few weeks that you enjoyed, so that you can go back to them if you need to in the future." Watanabe said.

 

"Like that safe feeling list?" Izuku asked.

 

"Exactly. And if you're in a good space now then I suggest taking a look at that safety list, you might find it easier to work on it." Watanabe said.

 

"Okay, I'll give it a try." Izuku said with a nod. "Um, can I ask some questions that aren't, well, that are game related?"

 

"Of course." Watanabe said, "what did you want to ask?"

 

"Are there quirks that can perceive the game?" Izuku asked. "I mean, not like my whole thing, but actual quirks."

 

"I'm going to come back to that second bit." Watanabe said. "But yes, it has been known to happen that people are born with perception quirks that let them know about the game. It's extremely uncommon, but it does happen."

 

"What happens to them?" Izuku asked.

 

"Well, there aren't many. I think there's one working in the London game's hero office. The most famous one is Kiryu-san." Watanabe said.

 

"Wait, Kiryu as in Joshua? The Shibuya Composer?" Izuku asked with wide eyes.

 

"Yes, he was one of the first living people who was able to see the UG." Watanabe looked at Izuku. "Do you need a moment? How are you feeling?"

 

"I'm alright, it was just a surprise, you know?" Izuku said. "How old is he?"

 

"Never ask a reaper their age, the answer will always make you feel uncomfortable." Watanabe said with a smile. "Now, if you're satisfied I'd like to go back to something you mentioned."

 

"Yeah? I guess?" Izuku said.

 

"What did you mean by 'your whole thing'?" She asked.

 

"That I don't actually have a quirk?" Izuku said. "I mean, the Composer played with my frequency but it's not like this is mine. I can only do this because the Composer lets me." Izuku finished with a shrug. He didn’t like it, but he’d accepted the idea his quirk was pretty much borrowed.

 

"That is not accurate." Watanabe said slowly. "And the fact you have gone this many years thinking it was distresses me."

 

"I don't, what do you mean?" Izuku blinked.

 

"I mean, that as you are, right now. Well. You are not a person with a quirk capable of game interactions, nor are you a player who can interact with the RG at will. Right now, sitting in front of me, and probably for the last five years, you are closer to a reaper than you are to a player or a living person." Watanabe said and Izuku froze, looked at her with wide shocked eyes and shook his head slowly. "I can't say more for sure right now, but what you can do is all you. The game may have given you the ability, but that's really no different to a parent passing their quirk down to a child.

 

"Everything you do with your quirk is you. I may not be able to say anything detailed right now, but I will be asking. You don't have access to someone else's quirk, a composer can't decide you don't get to keep your prize. It's all yours." Watanabe said.

 

"I don't understand." He said slowly. "I'm, what am I a reaper?"

 

"No, no there are a very specific set of circumstances that are required to become a reaper. I can promise you right here and now, you are not a reaper." Watanabe said seriously.

 

Izuku sighed and slumped into his seat with a mix of relief and fear. That sure was a thing he hadn't thought he needed to worry about, and no matter what she said he was going to spend the next age worried about it. "Then what? Am I noise?"

 

"I wouldn’t think so, noise is its own particular thing and you certainly don’t match the requirements. I will however ask what exactly you won. Listen to me, you were ten Midoriya, you were ten and scared. They didn't explain things to you properly and that's on them, not on you. You have done so, so well okay?" She looked at him and Izuku made a shaky nod.

 

"Am, am I like that Nomu thing?" Izuku asked quiet.

 

"I still don't know what that thing was. But you've never had wings have you?" Watanabe asked calmly.

 

"No, no wings." Izuku confirmed. His spine tingled just thinking about it, like how someone talking about nits made your head itch.

 

"Then I think you'll be fine. Are you feeling okay?" She asked.

 

"Yeah, um, a bit shaky but not in a bad way. I, I know it doesn't really change anything, I just don't like the idea that I don't know what I can do." Izuku said.

 

"Well, if you're comfortable with it, I'll shake down some people and on Thursday we can look and see if there's anything you can do that you didn't know you could do. I am a qualified quirk counsellor too you know." Watanabe said. "It's okay Midoriya, nothing about how you use your quirk needs to change. Just remember that it's yours, not anyone else’s."

 

"Yeah." Izuku said. "I can do that."

 

"Okay, do you want me to call anyone to take you home? You've had a bit of a shock." Watanabe offered.

 

"No, I'll be fine. Thanks though." Izuku said with a smile.

 

"You have my number and my email, remember you can call me any time you need to."

 

* * *

 

"Young Midoriya, are you alright? You've been very quiet today." All Might said. Somehow the man could move stealthily when he wanted to and Izuku had found himself in an observation room he didn't know the gym had watching his classmates play the most vicious game of dodgeball the world had ever seen. And they weren’t even using quirks.

 

"Yeah, I just, there was some talk about my quirk with my therapist yesterday and I'm thinking." Izuku smiled brightly. "I didn't mean to worry you though!"

 

"Something about your quirk?" All Might asked, "Is it something to be concerned about?"

 

"No, no it's not like a class issue or anything." Izuku assured. "Really, I'm just a bit distracted. Um, are you sure that's safe?" Izuku asked watching as an explosive dodgeball sailed across the room and detonated against the wall, leaving a creator. Apparently quirks were now in play.

 

"That is a touch more enthusiasm than I was allowing." All Might said. "Midoriya, would you mind pushing that green button next to you?"

 

"This one?" Izuku asked.

 

"That’s it." All Might said "Now please."

 

Izuku hit the button and gasped. A torrent of water poured from the ceiling, immediately soaking all the class to the bone. "What?"

 

"Thank you for your assistance young Midoriya." All Might said with a broad smile. "Now shall we join your classmates?"

 

Izuku nodded and followed behind the hero. The class had stopped playing and begun huddling under a hastily constructed shelter Yaoyorozu had made. Kacchan was steaming literally and metaphorically. No one looked happy.

 

"It seems you all have had a chance to cool down!" All Might said from the door with a bright smile and thumbs up. Izuku lost it, full body, collapsed into the water, can't breath for laughing, lost it.

 

"I can't believe our class president has betrayed us like this." Ojiro said with a sad shake of his head.

 

"I can." Hagakure said. "I've played monopoly with him."

 

"Truth." Uraraka said. She had touched the tarp that was the main body of the shelter so it was attempting to lift up while the tallest members of the class held the corners down.

 

"I heard about the hotel empire, you can't talk." Yaoyorozu said. "Sir, was there a reason for this?"

 

"YES! When I say to play without the use of quirks I mean it!" All Might looked at the class sternly, but his attention turned to Bakugo swiftly. "There are always situations where use of ones quirk is inadvisable at best. Those of you with fire based quirks should be extra aware of it. Perhaps you are in a precarious situation with unknown variables, reviling your quirk could let enemies know your potion. Or you could trigger a range of explosive issues.

 

"Even then, your first response to getting wet was to use your quirks, something that was still not allowed. There is a reason for what we tell you to do, even if you do not understand it." All Might sighed. "Sero, explain one problem that using your quirk in this situation could cause."

 

"Um, there's low visibility so my tape could catch allies as easily as enemies." Sero said. The water stopped and the class cautiously spread out. Still cold, but the shock of the water had worn off and that had been most of it.

 

"Good, Uraraka."

 

"I don't know what the projectiles could be, using my quirk on them could trigger something? Or make them move in unpredictable ways?" Uraraka said.

 

"Good, Hagakure."

 

"I'm basically naked except for my gloves and boots so if something hit me I'd be unable to help anyone else." Hagakure paused and silence stretched.

 

"Wait, you mean UA couldn't create an invisible fabric? That's so unbelievably dangerous to just send you out with no protection." Uraraka shouted.

 

"I'm texting someone I know who deals with this kind of thing," Izuku said immediately, "I think there's something we can do for that."

 

"Right, Hagakure I'm going to request that you wear the PE uniform in class until this is sorted. For the rest of you remember, it's not just what’s being thrown you need to think of, it's your surroundings too." All Might continued going through the class moving the topic away from Hagakure's costume. Some of the issues were individual focuses like Asui saying that there could be anything on the objects and just sticking her tongue on it wouldn't be smart, to more broad like changing weight distribution and toppling a building down.

 

"Sensai? You didn't ask Midoriya." Sato said.

 

"Indeed, Midoriya, when shouldn’t you use your quirk?" All Might asked. Izuku looked up from where he had been rapidly texting Watanabe about how pins like Blink Step (which Sa-chan had used a lot) made clothes invisible and if that was something he could do by playing with frequencies to answer the question.

 

"If someone could go through me faster than I could stop them and there's civilians involved. If I'm outside of Japan. If I'm too close to Shibuya. If there's extreme temperatures. There's probably more but those are the major ones." Izuku said.

 

"What's with you and Shibuya?" Sero asked after a moment.

 

"We don't talk about that." Hagakure, Iida, and Uraraka said in unison. 

 

"It's not that. It's really not that major?" Izuku asked. "But, um, I also really don't want to talk about it."

 

"And those boundaries will be respected." All Might said seriously, with a stern look to the class. "Now, go get changed and I won't have you running laps tomorrow. Anyone who dawdles and gets a cold, it's your own fault."

 

Izuku jogged to catch up with the class and ignored his classmates reactions.

 

* * *

"Good afternoon Midoriya, do you mind joining me in UG frequency today?" Watanabe asked.

 

"Sure." Izuku said and dropped frequency. A second later Watanabe followed. Her wings were tiny, barely peeking out from behind her shoulders. For the first time Izuku wondered on her role in the Musutafu game. Because she was connected, and obviously strong, and with her wings so small she also had a lot of control.

 

"Can you use scan for me? Don't actually tap into anything I just want to see what happens." Watanabe said. Izuku obliged and felt the lights bloom into existence alongside the buzz of noise. There were still some students on campus, and some of them had negative noise attached, not unexpected with the sports festival coming up. Watanabe, like all reapers, didn't show up to scan. Players couldn't be scanned either, it was something that caused confusion in the early and late stages of the game when suspicion was highest.

 

"Okay, that's enough." Watanabe said and Izuku cancelled the scan. "How much time do you spend in UG frequency compared to RG?" She asked.

 

"Um, not much? Until I was fourteen it was probably just two or three hours a week, now it's more like a couple of hours or more a day. Training and stuff, you know?" Izuku offered. "Why? Is something wrong?"

 

"No, nothing's wrong. I think as you spend more time in the UG you'll get a stronger connection to it. That may be a benefit in your career choice." Watanabe looked over Izuku. "At this point, I'm readying my submission about your probation, and I'm going to recommend you stay in the heroics course where you are. Although I do suggest we continue meeting, perhaps once every week or two rather than twice a week however."

 

"I'd like that." Izuku said. "Did you manage to get anywhere on that clothing request?" Izuku asked.

 

"Actually, yes. According to the Conductor if she has something form the standard approved brands and you stick a UG pin on it, it will match her visibility." Watanabe said. "I couldn't tell what kind of pin they meant so here." Watanabe held out a pin that had a sneaker taking up most of the surface, with a red V behind it on a green background. "She won't be able to us any of the abilities attached to the items, that takes a stronger connection to the UG, but Walk on, Walk off will make what she wears invisible."

 

"Does it work like Blink Steep?" Izuku asked.

 

"Pretty much, but these ones can be made by reapers. I suggest taking her shopping before the sports festival." Watanabe said.

 

"That's probably a good idea. Oh, um you know how noise can get  attached to people?" Izuku asked.

 

"Yes." Watanabe said. "What about it?"

 

"Am I allowed to erase that? I mean, if it's a game week then I wouldn't because it might be a task and I don't want to mess with that but if it isn't a game and I see it can I?" Izuku looked over at her. "Because I kinda got the idea that the orange noise was a whole not good issue thing? But I don't want to get vanished by anyone." Izuku paused. "It's attached to some people in the school and that seems like a not good thing?"

 

"Honestly, our games don't tend to use yellow noise, so go for it. I would remind you that noise are dangerous and largely unpredictable, so don't just go off and do it. Please plan ahead." Watanabe said. "Have you considered using other pins?"

 

"Not really? These were the only ones that worked for me in the game. I didn't think i could use any others." Izuku said.

 

"Pins are all about imagination and will. Right now you've gotten very good with what you have, but I wouldn't be surprised if your connection to the UG has helped that expand. Also just having had another four years of growing up." Watanabe said. "Do you have any others?"

 

"Just money pins, but if I start erasing the noise on campus I suppose I'll find more." Izuku mused. "It's really okay for me to do that?"

 

"UA doesn't get used as part of the game during school semester, and even in the summer games there's not enough here to make it worth it." Watanabe smiled at Izuku. "Go ahead, be a hero and give people a better day."

 

"Alright Watanabe-san."

 

Watanabe smiled and waved Izuku off. Izuku ran through the door, not bothering to change frequency when he was going noise hunting.

 

* * *

Izuku activated scan again and the first noise he came across was attached to a purple haired kid. It was bigger than Izuku had expected, it felt like a big set of teeth and the feedback made his teeth ache, but those weren't as hard to fight as they looked so Izuku activated it. He was forcibly dropped to the same frequency as the noise, and everything vanished from the room except the noise and a couple of desks. Objects at this frequency were weird, everything about this frequency was weird, and would vanish if you were doing too much damage to them.

 

The noise weren't that bad, two Jelly Madchester that looked like giant blue jellyfish and drifted slowly though the room, and two Carcinosamps that were big green and yellow crabs that could through their one massive claw like a boomerang. Izuku activated Web Spider and zapped the two crabs one after the other. That alone was enough to erase them, but he didn't have any more Web Spider left. 

 

Although he'd been quick in taking out the Carcinosamps, he hadn't been quick enough to stop the Jelly Madchester from spawning another. Now there were three of them bobbing ominously in his direction. Izuku pushed out and froze them in place with Long Live the Flow so they couldn't move their tentacles or create any more of themselves. He activated Onikiri and punched the closest again and again until it was erased. Two punches in to the second Jelly and Onikiri ran out. 

 

Izuku moved away from the Jellies, remembering that they could chain lighting between them and Long Live the Flow was about to run out. He activated Sexy B to pick up one of the desks and slam it into them. One hit was enough for the one he'd already punched, and the other was erased just as it started to spawn another.

 

The noise all erased Izuku slid into the standard UG frequency. On the floor next to the purple kid where two pins, both baby blue with a pink kangaroo on them and a swoop of white. Izuku considered them and stuck them in his pocket. He wasn't sure he wanted to change what he had, but it was worth thinking about, especially if he was going to be going after noise again.

 

In the RG the purple haired kid who had been glaring at the paper in front of him had packed up and gone running from the room. That happened, noise drained all kinds of energy from people and while they didn't get it back when the noise was erased suddenly not having it be drained was a boost by itself. Whatever had been bothering him had probably had one of those stupidly obvious solutions occur.

 

Izuku sighed looked in the direction of the other noise. He chewed his lip and started muttering as he considered everything Watanabe had been drilling into his head about knowing his limits. About knowing what mental space he was in before he did something. He looked away from the noise and slid back into RG frequency, maybe that was enough for one day. He shouldn’t push his luck.

 

* * *

 

"Okay, explain this to me again." Hagakure said.

 

"My friend gave me something that I can use to make certain brands of clothing invisible, but it's only this one list of brands, and I need to add something to them. I don't know how it works but it means that until the support department gets its act together you can still train properly." Izuku said. "Because I really can't see nakedness being comfortable for most of what we do?" Izuku added. "I mean that in the nicest way."

 

"Mm, it was probably my fault, I guess they thought from my costume design that I already had something for my body and just needed the extra's?" Hagakure shrugged. "But I'm definitely up for trying this. So these are the only shops that have those brands?"

 

"The only ones by school that won't cost hundreds of thousands of yen, yeah." Izuku confirmed.

 

"Alright then, let’s try this." Hagakure walked into the first store and Izuku followed, the tingle of the reaper decal washed over him.

 

Apparently knowing that this was a stop gap measure didn't mean that Hagakure was going to settle for anything less than she would on a normal day. She'd started in the sports section but that range was uninspiring and lacking in the brands on Izuku's list. The ribbon cargo pants from Sheep Heavenly had been the first confirmation, especially once they'd realised things that went into the pockets would also count as invisible. For a top  Hagakure decided on a black turtleneck from Natural Puppy, mainly because it was on sale for 3000 yen and most of her money had gone to the pants.

 

"Thanks for doing this for me." Hagakure said as they left the store.

 

"As your friend and your class president it was a pleasure." Izuku said. "Even if you won't be able to wear it for the sports festival."

 

"Yeah, that's a bit disappointing. Oh well, at least I have your speech to look forward too!" She said with a laugh.

 

"My what now?" Izuku stopped dead in his tracks. A few seconds later Hagakure looked back to find him.

 

"Didn't you remember? You scored the most points in the entry exam, so you have a speech to open the event? Midoriya-kun? Are you alright?" Hagakure flapped her arms like she wasn't sure if she should touch him or not. "Ah, do you want to come to mine tonight and I can help you write it?"

 

"Please." Izuku said and trailed along behind her. His mother was going to laugh at him.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> alternate summery: in which I try to get game mechanics to make sense in something that isn't a game. 
> 
> Okay, I'd try be clever but it's 4am, I can't sleep, and i have work in 4 hours. The monopoly game is inspired my real life events, but it was a cat rather than a villain (whats the real difference?). Izuku is still a buff boy, but also didn't spend the summer manually cleaning up the beach, so theres some changes. The therapy is also somewhat true to life where you get told something and really the best thing is to let it sit for a while, especially when you're in a good headspace and can cope with news. Izuku wasn't quite ready for that news, but that's a thing that happens sometimes too.


	8. Up For A Little Game?

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In which the sports festival begins, and Izuku worries.

It was nice walking around Musutafu in UG frequency. People walking through him was still unpleasant, but there was a strange quiet and not effect. There was still all the sound of the city, people on the streets, and cars, and stores, and tune Izuku didn't so much hear as feel that was all Musutafu. It was especially nice because no one was going to interact with him. A couple of days after the most recent game had finished, not a full week but finished none the less. 

 

Reapers were taking the reprieve to not do anything for a while, or pick up extra shifts to rent a one room apartment split between four people. They weren't on the streets and if they were they really didn't want to talk to anyone resembling a player for another few days. Izuku was as alone as he could be in the middle of a street. He activated scan, with the game finished  there would probably be no issues with taking out yellow noise. Probably. 

 

"Hey! Shibuya kid!"

 

Izuku jumped and dropped out of scan. The person with the yellow noise attached sighed and wandered off, but Izuku was more concerned with the reaper coming towards him. She had long rainbow hair done up in pigtails and looked like she'd got lost on the way to Harajuku station. Pink and purple  tights, bright blue skirt, a long top with checkerboard hero patterns. It was more colour than he had ever seen on a reaper. If she could she probably would have made her wings a neon rainbow too. 

 

"Hi?" Izuku asked cautiously. He hadn't seen her around before, he would definitely have noticed her.

 

"Ah, oh my goodness I'm so glad I got to see you! The legendary flower champion!" She rocked on her heels and Izuku blinked dumbly. Flower champion? Legendary? What? "I never thought I'd actually get to meet you! I'm Atarashi Aiko! My sister told me heaps about you! So you should call me Aiko!"

 

"Your sister?" Izuku echoed. 

 

"MMhmm, yep! Live-chan! My sister Coco." Aiko grinned brightly. Izuku chewed his lip and thought. Names weren't something that most reapers gave out, it wasn't until the fifth day that anyone even introduced themselves  before giving a challenge. 

 

"Oh, yeah I remember her." Izuku said. Coco had been one of the few who introduced herself, and then she'd offered to sell some things on the sly. "Um, she was telling you about me?"

 

"Yep, she was super pleased you won! And then I heard from on of the harriers here that you got into UA! It's the sports festival soon right?" She asked.

 

"Yeah, on Monday." Izuku said. And apparently there was a difference between knowing objectively that reapers could be watching the sports festival, and knowing that they paid enough attention to want to. Did UG get  picked up on camera? Did the reapers all sneak in and hang out in the stands? There were so many questions that Izuku didn't really want the answer too, but also really did. 

 

"Ah, good luck! I'm sure you’re going to do great! OH! I know, here take this," Aiko handed over a bright yellow pin with a snake and a frog, "You've started collecting again right? I'm sure this will come in handy!"

 

"Thanks?" Izuku slipped the pin into his pocket.

 

"Your welcome! Good luck on Monday, Coco-chan and I will be rooting for you!" Aiko blew him a kiss and rushed off. Izuku watched her go with a touch  of shock. Was that how other people felt when Izuku talked about heroics? 

 

Izuku shook off the confusion and activated scan again. He needed to work on reaction times, so hopefully he'd be able to find some Garage or Alterna wolf noise. Maybe after that the interaction with Aiko-chan would make sense.

 

* * *

_Good luck today sweetie! I know you'll do great!_

 

Izuku smiled at the note. He knew his mother would want to be watching all  day, but she had the midnight shift again so would be getting home just as the festival started.  Hopefully she would actually sleep, rather than stay awake to watch. Izuku kept the note and replaced it with one of his own that  was just a string of love hearts and an arrow to the fridge. He’d made extra breakfast so she would be able to reheat it and eat rather than make herself  something.

 

The train ride to UA was peaceful and Izuku still felt nervous though it. It wasn't just the sports festival anymore, he'd checked the date while waiting for the train and tomorrow would be his last day of probation. So he had to deliver a hastily written speech, do well in the tournament, and hope that he  didn't get kicked out of class. No pressure or anything. Oh, and he was doing  this all in front of literally millions of people.

 

It was ridiculously early though, because class presidents had a lot more to do with the organisation side of the sports festival than Izuku had really expected. As first years he and Yaoyorozu hadn't been involved in the security preparations like some of the upper years, but the representatives of all the classes were responsible for getting their class to each location. It had been pressed to them that this was a published event and that UA needed to look good through it. Any time they weren't actively participating in an event they needed to be managing the class. There had also been a heavy emphasis on not betting on the outcome of events that was very focused on the business and management rep's. Izuku didn't want to touch that while a ten foot pole, he would be happy if his class wasn't personally responsible for the destruction of school property again.

 

"Midoriya, good morning." Yaoyorozu said with a wave. 

 

"Good morning." Izuku fell into step with her. "Are you ready for today?"

 

"I have enough copies of our class' schedule to go around twice, and I've managed to gain five kilos of fat tissue. I'm prepared. What about you?" she asked. Izuku hadn't thought about that aspect of her quirk, she would have to be very careful with regards to her diet just to be able to use her quirk effectively. Rapid weight gain and loss wasn't good for a person, did her quirk work around that in some way? And there were other hero’s where weight was a big factor for their quirk, would any of that be useful for her?

 

"Izuku? Izuku? You've got that look do I need to get you a pen and paper?" Yaoyorozu asked.

 

"No, no, I'm good. Just thinking. Um, I have contingency plans to blame 1-B if anything gets blown up that shouldn't." Izuku added with a smile. Yaoyorozu snorted and elbowed him in the side. He should never have mentioned how pointy they were. "Okay no, but I do have plans to keep that from happening. And I'm feeling settled again, not about the festival, or my speech, but more generally." Mostly, he did need to ask Aizawa something. Aiko's comment had been rattling around in his head all weekend.

 

"I'm glad." She said with a smile. "And hey, you're plenty inspirational."

 

"Please don't tell me Hagakure shared those videos." Izuku said with dawning horror.

 

"Lying is wrong, Midoriya." 

 

"This is going to be terrible." Izuku said fully resigned to his fate. If those were being shared then he would have to mess up drastically for something to be more embarrassing than that. Something Hero Fails worthy.

 

"You'll be fine, you think on your feet." Yaoyorozu said.

 

"Good morning Aizawa-sensei." Izuku said. Their teacher was slumped over his desk, fully encased in his sleeping bag and looking at an empty mug like it  had personally betrayed him. 

 

"Midoriya, Yaoyorozu." 

 

"Are you alright sensei?" Yaoyorozu asked.

 

"I'm commentating." He answered shortly. That wasn’t really an answer but they got the idea. "What is it Midoriya?"

 

"Oh," Izukku hadn't thought his nerves had been noticeable. "I know there's going to be extra security on campus, but the event is livestreamed right? That seems like a risk." The more Izuku thought about it the more of a risk it  seemed, naming students who were up and coming hero's and broadcasting their strengths and weaknesses too. And maybe for the people from hero families that wasn't so bad, they were established presence who could deal with any threat. But for people like him and Uraraka and Kachan? Whose parents weren't heroes? Who's -

 

"You're mumbling Midoriya," Aizawa said with a sigh. "I understand your concerns, but you are not the first person to bring them up, nor is this the first year that this has been a concern. Trust us, Midoriya, looking out for you  is our job."

 

"Right." Izuku nodded slowly and let the subject drop. Of course there were plans in place, why wouldn't there be? 

 

* * *

Getting 1-A into the stadium on time was like herding cats. But the cats had superpowers and hormones and the ability to gossip. It seemed like an age before everyone had filed through the changing room out again in sports uniforms. By the time the class was lined up to go in one piece Izuku had already mentally awarded Yaoyorozu a medal at the very least, and then started thinking of appropriate gifts because the next stage she'd be going alone. Once the class had been assembled Izuku was led off to the side because he needed to have stage access that the rest of the class didn't. No  one had started a fight with any on in the class or in their year, it was possibly the only miracle Izuku was going to get. Izuku reconsidered the medal and the gift, and wondered what it took to get a shrine dedicated to someone. Aizawa was probably thrilled to know the majority of the class was going to be on ground level at all times. This would go fine.

 

Then Present Mic announced Izuku's speech and he regretted everything. He  had spent the weekend on it with Hagakure, skyping with Uraraka and Iida at  times. It was as good as it was going to get. And short, they had all agreed that more than a minute and the audience would get twitchy. Sure everyone said the festival was about school pride, but it was really about showing off the next generation of the hero industry. No one wanted to listen to a long speech before the action; enough people wouldn't even tune in until the actual events had started. Still his knees were shaking as he walked up to the stage. Sure, through him into a bunch of villains and PTSD takes over and tells him what to do, but give him one speech and he becomes jelly. Nothing for it, sooner the speech was said the sooner he could do things he knew how to do.

 

"... Maybe we're here to show the world what we can do, but really, we're here to show ourselves what we can do. Where here to push past our limits and go PLUS ULTRA!"

 

The students shouted the moto back and Izuku smiled so no one saw his teeth chatter with nerves. It had been the toughest paragraph to ever read aloud, he would have rather read a page for English class. He must have done something right though because the crowd was cheering as  he was politely shuffled off the stage to re-join 1-A before the announcement of the first activity. As Midnight spun a wheel to decide their fates Hagakure elbowed him in congratulations. A few people past her, Uraraka gave him a thumbs up only to be told off by Iida for interrupting the proceedings. 

 

The wheel was interesting, Izuku had looked into the past sports festival and  there was always a pattern, one large scale single person event that tended to get rid of anyone not in a heroic's course or extremely determined, then a  team event of some kind, and then a torment. The details changed every year, and the events in second and third year changed the most, but Izuku wasn't surprised when it was announced they would be competing in an obstacle course.

 

The wall that dropped away to reviled the obstacle course was a surprise, having Cementoss on staff must be saving UA billions of yen. There was no way doing any of this was practical otherwise. 

 

"Good luck," Izuku said to Hagakure as the classes were given their mark. Weird, the hero classes were in the first block; surely it would make sense for the non-heroic students to get a head start? Because they weren't in such a physically demanding course?

 

"You too!" She said and broke Izuku out of his thoughts. Then the starting buzzer went and the class was off. Hopefully Izuku could stay in RG frequency for a while, because he really didn't want to walk through hundreds of people. It didn't even feel like anything, it was just unpleasant. Instead he just ran, elbows tucked and staying low and balanced. There was a tunnel up ahead, funning the mob of students into a narrow and dark opening. He would be able to make it though, being front of the pack like he was. No need to vanish just yet.

 

Todoroki threw up his wall off ice and Izuku bit the bullet and dropped frequency. For all he'd said the sports festival was for showing themselves what they could do he did know it was the first introduction hero agency’s had to students who could be interning for them. He and Hagakure had talked a lot about how hard it was to make an impression while invisible. She had it harder, being invisible all the time, but Izuku knew how she felt none the less. 

 

Running through the wall was freezing. it was several inches thick and Izuku  didn't like it, his teeth were chattering and his skin prickled. Once out of the wall, and with the majority of the first years behind him, Izuku felt like he'd stepped into a bath. The air was so much warmer than the ice it hurt.

 

Izuku's classmates were really impressive.

 

A moment of thought and Izuku chugged a happy whale. The pain across his  skin vanished and he breathed a sigh of relief as he returned to Realground frequency. That relief was cut short when he saw the robots. All the same make as the Zero Point robot from the entrance exam. Who decided robots were a good investment? There were so many things about this school that didn't make sense. Did they become not a good investment and that’s why they were setting hordes of teenagers on them? That seemed really inefficient. 

 

Izuku ducked and rolled out of the way of metal arm. This was not a time to think about UA's finances. Some of the robots clearly had been dealt with by  Todoroki, frozen in place as they were. There was enough scrap around to suggest there were fewer robots than UA had started with. Izuku dropped frequency and considered the situation; he didn't want to just abandon people to the robots, because that would be cruel.

 

Big things were hard to lift and the Zero Point robots were huge, Izuku activated Sexy B and grabbed the one that had been attacking him, it was now scanning the area in confusion, and lifted it. It was shaking at barely a foot off the ground but that wasn't the important bit, the important bit was moving it. And it did move. There was a commotion behind him, probably the  ice wall coming down. Izuku threw the robot at another and cringed at the sound of metal scraping against metal. 

 

That was half the Sexy B time gone, but also two robots taken out of the race. Izuku ran through the rest of the robots un UG frequency. Past them it became extremely clear what the next obstacle was.

 

"What kind of person comes up with these things?" Izuku asked. This was Game levels of weird. This was 'make a leap of faith at Shibuya River' levels of awful. Why a pit? did some support student explode something and the school didn't want to fill it in? He almost hoped so, because the only other chance was that all this was arranged just for the sports festival. Izuku considered his pins and shook his head, he couldn't fly and didn't have a teleport pin. Maybe he should have invested in a wider spread of pins, just because he couldn't use more than six at a time didn't mean he couldn't carry them and swap them out. Having a teleport pin probably wouldn't have helped all that much though, the pit was huge and wide. 

 

Sure there were some ropes across the gap, but they didn't go directly from one side to another. It was a rope maze, a rope maze over a pit of darkness.  And soon there would be the added obstacle of a couple hundred students trying it. Izuku really didn't like walking through people that alone was incentive to do something stupid. On the bright side no one could see him and wouldn't be able to tell him off for doing something dumb.

 

Izuku turned back and sprinted for the robots. This would work, probably, hopefully. There was a crumpled sheet of metal singed black at one end and half buried in the dirt. The remains of Kacchan's passing. Izuku gave it a tug and it didn't move. He gave it another, stronger tug and still nothing. With a frown Izuku activated Sexy B again and pulled hard. One solid yank with the psyc and the metal was out. He could hear commotion from the crowd but pushed it to the side. 

 

("Is it just me or is that piece of metal joining the competition?"

"It's Midoriya, these things are always Midoriya.")

 

The metal was heavy, but not so much that Izuku couldn't carry it. He slung it over his shoulders and ran back to the pit obstacle. This was still a very bad idea. He wasn't going to change his plan, but it was still a bad idea. Izuku put down the metal and crawled onto it. it was what Sa-chan had insisted was a surfer pose, knees bent so you could stand up smoothly. He gripped the edge of the sheet and activated Sexy B. There wasn't much time left on the pin but hopefully it would be enough. At the very least he probably wouldn't die.

 

The sheet rose and Izuku sent it forward as fast as he could. The nightmare was running out before the other side. It was terrifying and also the best kind  of rollercoaster. Izuku laughed hysterical and thrilled.

 

Then the pin ran out.

 

So close to the other side Izuku could taste it and he was falling. He screamed, just a bit and mentally ran though his pins, no-no-maybe-no-dead-no and charged up Onikiri. If this didn't work he was really screwed. 

 

The punch launched him into the ledge and he coughed as all the air in his lugs was forcibly evited. He stayed in the UG frequency, if there was one thing he didn't want his mother to see it was this moment. There was more noise behind him, a big chunk of the others had passed the robots. Izuku rolled onto the ground and summoned another Happy Whale and chugged that. The bruises he knew were forming faded away and a good portion of his ability to breath came back too. Why did he do this to himself?

 

Jogging across the flat Izuku activated scan, Todoroki at least was ahead of him and he had no idea what was coming up. Maybe it would be a good idea  to know those thing in advance. The thought lights of the stadium lit up but there were only two ahead of him. And both were thinking very clearly about  land mines. Was this just where they sent bored support class students? If you made something too ridiculous to be practical did they add it to the obstacle course?

 

Izuku ran to the next obstacle and saw how his classmates had decided to deal  with the mines. Todoroki was slowed by the need to check his footing before each steep on the other hand Kacchan had decided that explosions were best avoided with more explosions and had launched himself into the air. Izuku looked down at his feet. There had always been a question about how he interacted with the ground of the Real Ground when in Underground frequency. He could pick things up, but that sometimes required actual thought so he didn't walk through it.

 

He didn't hover though, and had tripped over himself a lot. Izuku lingered at the start of the minefield. The thing was, if he was wrong he was going to be  very wrong. But if he was right...

 

Well, it wasn't worth thinking about any longer, the more time he just stood there the further ahead Todoroki and Kacchan would get, and the closer the rest of the year would get.

 

Izuku ran across the minefield with no care or consideration for where mines  could be. Five metre's in he decided that he probably wouldn't explode. He overtook Todokori fast, the other boy was actually taking care to not explode  himself, what with him having a physical presence and all. Izuku would say that the mines wouldn't do too much damage, but this was UA and he really didn't trust that. Sure they wouldn't let a student get killed, but Izuku had seen the kids that got hurt in the entrance exam, there was a lot that could happen to someone before killed. A lot more than most of the staff knew. 

 

As if by divine intervention it was that moment Kacchan mistimed one of his explosions and dropped from the sky. He landed with a roll and string of curses that hopefully weren't picked up by any camera because Izuku did not  want to have a talk about appropriate school language with him at all ever. That could be literally anyone else's problem. 

 

Then the mine went off. Izuku barely felt it, they were more flash than heat, but Kacchan stood up dirty and angry. All three of them were running now, Todoroki took moment of confusion to catch up and Kacchan would be screaming about not coming in second if he wasn't focused on staying ahead.

 

He let little explosions off too. Izuku wanted to give him the benefit of the doubt, that it was too boost his speed and not take out the competition. Kacchan was smart; he would know the benefits of showing a united front to  everyone who was watching. Because it wasn't just civilians and heroes that  got to watch the matches, whatever Aizawa had tried . But he got a bit single minded about winning.

 

And then there was cheering and Izuku stumbled across the line and into RG  frequency.

 

"WHAT THE HELL DEKU!"

 

"Where did you come from?"

 

"It appears Midoriya has also crossed the line, er, did anyone catch where he  placed?"

 

"I SWEAR TO FUCK DEKU IF YOU SAY YOU CAME FIRST-"

 

"I came third." Izuku quickly said as Midnight made her way over. He wasn't entirely sure about that, there was a lot of noise toward the end but he also didn't want to cause a scene. More of a scene.

 

"- DAMN FUCKING RIGHT YOU DID!" Kacchan hadn't actually stopped yelling  to hear Izuku's answer but that didn't seem to matter.

 

"If you're done," Midnight said with a sweet smile as she tapped the handle of her whip against her thigh, "Then you boys should sit down, get some water. You’ll need it." 

 

Midnight was very ominous. Izuku wasn't quite sure why people didn't take her seriously but she was looking at Kacchan like no one would find out what  happened to him. That was probably because of the stadium full of people and multiple camera crews watching and judging, most of the time people just let Kacchan shout. 

 

Todoroki nodded and moved toward the shade, not in a way that said he was  taking advantage of a break when offered, but more that he didn't want to be  around a shouting classmate anymore and would take any excuse offered to leave. Kacchan stopped off like the ground had called him names and complemented someone he didn't like.

 

"And Midoriya, next time you cross a finish line try being visible for it? For ease of judging if nothing else."

 

"Yes sensei." Izuku agreed and shuffled off to the side. Todoroki was looking  at him like he'd seen a ghost, Kacchan like he was going to make Izuku a ghost.

 

"Guess we have a bit of a wait, huh?" Izuku said as the commentary turned to how others were getting on. Neither of the others responded.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> It's Sunday, so I'm not late-late right?  
> I am... not as happy with this chapter as I want to be. I've had about 4 hours of writing time this week, every spare hour has been spent on campus working on my honors project that's due soon. Why am I telling you this? Because I don't have any buffer chapters left and I really want to do the Sports Fest Arc justice. So Updates are going to slow down until that is finished. I'm really sorry.


End file.
